History Repeats Itself
by MiZZ SaHurr
Summary: Leah found her happy ending in Leah's Story. Now, twenty years later, her kids are all grown up, and it's time they learn some lessons of love themselves. Sequel to Leah's Story, BUT can be read alone, despite the A/N in the beginning. OC/OC
1. Prologue: Still the Pack Mother

A/N: All right, I have the prologue up as promised!! I would like to thank everyone who supported me in Leah's Story, and hope you like this as well. Also, if you haven't read Leah's Story, then I recommend you read it, because many, many things, such as symbolism, characters, and just central themes in the plot carry over. Thank you once again for your support, I love you all!!

D/C: I don't own Leah, Jake, Quil, Nessie, Claire, Embry, or anyone else you make recognize. They all belong to Stephanie Meyer and no copyright infringement is intentional. I only own the plot and the new OC's introduced.

Leah's POV-Five years after Leah's Story

"All right, Nessie, it's okay. Just take deep breaths. You've already done this twice. It's okay, just try to stay calm, sweetie."

"Leah! Leah! LEAH!! I think Claire's in labor too!" I turned to see Quil running down the hall, with my little Claire-bear on a stretcher.

"Quil, I don't think she-" I try to say, but I get cut off.

"SHE'S IN LABOR, DAMN IT!!! DO SOMETHING, LEAH!!" Quil yells. Stay calm, Leah, stay calm.

"LEAH!!" I hear Nessie cry.

"Jacob, give her more ice chips." I instruct him, while I begin to try to calm Claire down. "Carlisle! CARLISLE!"

Carlisle and Edward flew down specifically for Nessie's third delivery, but decided to stay until Claire had her baby too, although, Claire wasn't due for another three months.

"Relax, Quil. It's just a false alarm. The baby's just kicking." Carlisle told Quil gently.

"See, Claire-bear, nothing to worry about. It was just a false alarm." I told Claire, and boy was I relieved to see her calm.

"Aunt Leah, can I stay for Nessie's delievery? I want to be there for my best friend."

"Of courses, you can, honey. Quil, take care of her, while I go see Nessie." I said. Quil nods, and I turn around to Nessie assault Jacob with ice chips.

"Nessie, those aren't meant to be used as assault weapons." I told her. See, I can be nice.

"JACOB FUCKING BLACK!! You're never gonna touch me again, you hear me?" Nessie screams clutching onto Jacob's collar.

"Please don't say that, Nessie. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I'm so sorr-"

"YOU BETTER BE SORRY, YOU STUPID MUTT!!"

"Nessie, Nessie, it's okay. We're gonna make the Big Bad Alpha go away. Okay?"

"We can't! I tried having the Big Bad Alpha cut off, but Jacob's stupid wolf healing won't let that happen."

I don't even want to think what that means.

"All right, Renesmee, it's time to push." Edward says, while Carlisle gives Nessie some medication.

I let her hold my hand, since Jacob is now in Quil's arms crying. I decide to go and comfort him.

"I'm sure she will be okay, Jake. She's been through this before, twice. And don't worry, she doesn't really hate you." As soon as I tell him this, we hear a baby crying from inside the delivery room. "Go see your child, Jacob."

Jacob gets up, and takes his daughter, Nafia, and his oldest son, Noah, into the delivery room.

"Come on, kiddoes. We're gonna see Momma and the new baby." I decide to go inside too.

I guess Jacob's letting Nessie spend time with all of her kids, since Noah and Nafia have snuggled up to their mother, and are thoroughly engrossed in their new brother. Jacob comes over, and stands next to me.

"Thanks, Leah. For everything."

"Aww, Jake. I have been doing this for over twenty years now. You know, I figured that once you boys were married, your wives would be the ones to wait on you hand and foot, and I wouldn't need to. So much for retiring as the pack mother." I say, but Jake knows I don't mind.

"Leah, you know, we all have our imprints, but you're still our number one girl." I smile and give Jake a hug. Nessie beckons to me, and I head over, and give her a hug too.

"All right, kids, your mom needs some rest. How about Daddy stays here, and you both can come and stay at my house?" I pick up Nafia in one hand, and Noah in the other.

"Aunt Leah, can we call Ay-Ay, too?" Nafia asks. Ay-Ay is Quil's daughter, Aylen, who is Nafia's best friend.

"I think she's already there, sweetie. And Noah, Dakota would be super excited to see you." Dakota is my oldest son, who is Noah's age.

"Is Karson gonna be there?" Nafia asks. She's referring to one of my twin boys, who is her age. Karson and Nafia…aren't the best of friends, but Jake and I are working on that.

"Yes, but he will be playing with Aaron, so you don't need to worry." Aaron is Karson's twin. I say, putting the kids in the car, and drive home.

I arrive home, to see John playing with all the kids. I smile, as he comes over, and kisses me. Of course, all the kids, think this is gross.

Yep, life is pretty good.

A/N: Okay, so this took place five years after Leah's Story, and the next chapter will be 15 years later, when all the kids will be grown up. I don't really like this, but I had to have a transition, to show that Leah found her happy ending, and that the story goes on with not just their kids, but also Quil's, Jacob's, and everyone else's kids. Like I said earlier, this is a sequel/follow-up, and thus, I highly recommend you go read Leah's Story first, so that you're not confused as to what happens in this, and who's who, not to mention there will be many allusions to what happened in Leah's Story, but if you don't want to, I'm not going to force you.

Prologue-Still the Pack Mother


	2. Chapter 1: Homecoming

A/N: Alright, so here is chapter one, where our new story really begins. It takes place 15 years after the prologue, and is in Nafia's point of view.

I pick up my bags from the baggage belt, and head on to the customs area. They check my bags, make sure I'm not a terrorist, and twenty minutes later, I am at the arrivals terminal at Sea-Tac Airport. I see a huge man, whose height is 6" 9', and whose face is a mirror of mine. Or rather, my face is a mirror of his. You see, said man, is my amazing father, Jacob Black, Alpha Wolf Extraordinaire. No, really, he is. And I look exactly like him, same jet black hair, although mine is longer, same smile, although his is charming, and mine…let's not comment on it, okay? Kay. Behind him, I also see my mother, Renesmee, who looks more like my sister, since she is more or less frozen at a physical age of twenty, or somewhere around there. I have her eyes, and since she's a half human half vampire, she has porcelain skin. Because of this, my skin isn't as dark as my dad's, but it is considerably darker than my mom's, so it's impossible to miss the Quileute in me.

I wave to the most beautiful couple in the world, and I'm not being biased because they're my parents. They really are the most beautiful couple in the world.

"Daddy!!" I scream, and I know I have a grin on my face matching the huge one on his. I drop my bags and run into his arms. I don't care if I am sixteen, and a senior in high school, I am still my Daddy's baby girl, and nothing will ever change that.

"How's my baby girl?" He asks, and I kiss his cheek.

"I'm okay, but I missed you so much, Daddy!! And Momma, I have a special surprise for you when we get home." I say turning to my mom, and hugging her as well.

"Oh, sweetheart, we missed you so much. Everything's so much easier when you're around. Living with three wolves really wears a half-vamp out."

We all laugh, and speaking of wolves, where are the other two? The other being my older brother, Noah, and my younger brother, Luke.

"Noah and Luke are at home. I think they are baby-sitting Destiny and Tucker." My mom says, reading my mind. That's another thing, because of my part vampire genes, I have a power, except it's not really…typical per say. I guess, it's a mix of my mom's communication powers, with the pack-mind my dad deals with every time he's in wolf form. People can read my mind, but only when I want them to, like my mom, because people can hear her thoughts, but only when she touches them. And on the flip-side , only vampires and shape-shifters can hear my thoughtsm just like only Dad's wolf pack can hear his thoughts. The only exception to that is my best friend, Aylen Ateara, who isn't a shape-shifter, but she can still hear my thoughts when I want her to. I don't know of any other human who does that. Aylen's dad, Uncle Quil, and my dad have been best friends forever, and our moms have been besties forever, hell, even our grandparents were great friends. So it only made sense we continue the tradition, right?

As we pile into the car, I can't help but smile at how happy my parents are. I know they have missed me, and I have missed them too. Seeing that happiness dance across their faces, as my dad tells me that Luke is getting ready to phase, I know I made the right decision by saying no. I will never tell my parents of what happened, because it will just cause them pain. It is a secret buried deep in my heart and soul.

But for now, I won't brood on that. For right now, I am just happy to go back to home sweet home, La Push.

A/N: So, what do you think? Now I won't promise to update soon, because TPP is still going on. But, I felt really bad for keeping you guys waiting for so long, so I decided to put this up, so people who wanted to read it, could at least add it to their author alerts. Thank you so much! And please leave a review


	3. Chapter 2: Resident Manwhore

Resident Manwhore

A/N: Right, so I know you all hate me. Because I haven't updated, and I know it's horrible, but I'm so sorry!! I truly am! I did write chapters 2 and 3 earlier, but then I lost my flash drive, which also had the epilogue to TPP on it, so finishing that got delayed, and then continuing this got delayed as well. Anyway, enough of my complaining, here is chapter two, (technically chapter 3, but let's save semantics for the fic, lol). Enjoy! Or at least, I hope you will!! Thank you to NataliaNicolette, long-lollipop-legs, ceh92, jacob/jasper1029, Little Emily, toshii529, Kait-tastic, cocolin, alyssauni12, dbgothicprincess, and Lola-Birdie for the amazing reviews!! I never expected such a response on only the first chapter! Thank you so much!!

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Karson's POV

I had been lounging on my bed, just thinking how within a week, I would be starting the end of my high school career. But I turned to see a face in the doorway. I laughed as I saw that look on my twin brother's face. You know, _the look. The I'm no longer a virgin look._ So, apparently he and his little girlfriend did it. About time, considering they had been dating since like forever. Little Aaron cashed in his V-card, to the so-called 'love of his life'. Yeah, bullshit if you ask me. Why? It's simple, Aaron and I are seventeen now, and we've been getting taller, stronger, and hotter. Translation: we're getting ready to phase. Which Aaron was really excited about, but I couldn't give a fuck. Anyway, so once my dear brother phases, he's going to imprint, and then what happens to Ms. Ateara? That's right; my brother is dating Aylen Ateara. She's one of the crème de la crème of La Push, along with her bitch of a best friend, Nafia Black, who was supposed to come back from her little rich-kid music camp today actually. Any minute she would be prancing into my house, acting like she owns the place. I swear, I don't know what she thinks of herself. She's not anything special, she's just a stuck-up, rich, spoilt brat who thinks too much of herself because her father is the Alpha.

"Hey Karson!! Guess what?" My brother exclaims, literally jumping off the walls. When will he get that sex really isn't a big deal?

"You and Aylen finally did it." I replied, my bored tone acting like juxtaposition to his excited one.

"How'd ya know?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

I get off my bed and look into his hazel brown eyes, sharp face, and black hair, and said,

"All right, Aaron. I say this because I love you. I have sex with a different girl almost every week. It's really not that big of a deal."

"Dude, Kar, I know man. I know it's not a big deal to you and I respect that. But it's different with me and Aylen. She's the one for me."

"And when you imprint? What happens then?"

I immediately wanted to take my words back once I saw the look on my brother's face. I didn't mean to hurt him, the truth just sort of came out.

"Actually, that's kinda the reason we did it."

"Wait? What?" I asked. I had know Aylen my whole life, and I knew she wasn't like that. She wasn't one to sleep around, but then again, she had been dating my brother since they were eleven, so you can't really say much there.

"She wanted her first time to be with me, but she also knew that I'm going to phase soon. So we did it."

"Well, damn. I'm happy for you; my little brother is finally growing up." I said, elbowing him.

"Umm, yeah, I was born first. Do I keep have to reminding you?" Aaron said, rolling his eyes.

"But _I _was the one who grew up first." I said, snorting.

"Whatever."

"Yeah, so Bitchy McBitchface back in town yet?"

"Who? Nafia? Yeah, Aylen got a call afterward, and I could practically hear her yelling on the phone. So of course, Aylen yelled back about how she missed her and blah blah blah. Now she's gonna take up all of Aylen's time, I swear, summers are my favorite, not because school's out, but because Nafia isn't here."

Aaron didn't like Nafia much either. Now his dislike for her was nowhere near what I felt for her, but still, he hated the fact that she always monopolized his girlfriend's time. But he tolerated her for Aylen.

"Yeah, I know, she's been going to her precious music camp. I swear, she thinks she's so special. I don't know why everyone likes her so much. I think she's so annoying." I said, rolling my eyes. Aaron was just staring at me, with a weird look on his face. "What?" I asked.

"Oh my gosh. I don't know why I didn't see it before. You like her. You _like _her."

"What the fuck? Seriously bro, I think you should have waited to have sex. It's messing with your head."

"No, I know what it's like to have feelings for someone, and you have feelings for Nafia Black, my dear brother."

"Well, I wouldn't call them feelings per say." I confessed. Because they weren't feelings…they were just desires…

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Well then, what would they be, Kar?"

"Desires. Because let's face it, she's fucking hot. And she's the only girl in La Push in our grade and the grade below us who I haven't fucked…besides Aylen of course."

Aaron chuckled.

"Is that all you think about?"

"Naw. I've been thinking about college lately." I stated truthfully. I was second in my class, only to Ms. I'm so perfect Nafia Black. As always she was first. In class, in choir, in theatre, damn, did the girl have to be good everything?

"Yeah, me too. Aylen and I are trying to work that out too."

"Aaron, you want my advice?"

"No, not really."

"Well, I don't care, I'll just tell you straight up, you need to let go of Aylen, it's best for all of us."

"Karson, I don't want to talk about this right now." Aaron said, going off to his own room. I heard my mom yelling about dinner being ready so I went downstairs. As soon as I did, lo and behold, there stood the bane of my existence, Nafia Black. All my life, our parents had tried to get us to be friends, because her dad, Jacob, and my mom, Leah were best friends. My mom didn't like how I was friends with everyone else, except her, and I know Uncle Jacob didn't really like the fact that her and I didn't get along either. But it was all her fault. She always acted like she knew everything, and that always pissed me off. And while I didn't like her, I will admit, she looks really hot in her little denim shorts, and red tube top. She was playing with my little brother and sister, Tucker and Destiny. Nafia always loved kids.

"Again, again, Nafi!" My little brother, Tucker said. Tucker seemed to think that he was Nafia's boyfriend, and that when he grew up, which would be a while, since he was only two, he would marry her. The entire tribe got a kick out of this. Me? I just thought it was stupid. But then again, kids are stupid.

"Kar!! Come pway wid us!" My little four year old sister said, tugging my hand. I shook her off, and smirked,

"Yeah, whatever, squirt. Get lost." For a second, it hurt me to see the expression on her face, whatever, I didn't care. She was annoying, and I had things to do.

"Karson, honey, aren't you gonna stay for dinner?" My mom asked.

"Mom, I made plans with a friend, I gotta go."

"Karson, you're not gonna go out. You're going to stay here for dinner, and eat with the family."

"Whatever. You can think that, but it's not happening. I'm out." I said, despite my mother's glare. Damn, I couldn't wait until college to get the fuck out of La Push.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it! Chapter two! Ok, so I know it's kinda short, but I promise to make the chapters longer, once the plot develops. What do you think? Please let me know! Thank you so much!


	4. Chapter 3: Life in La Push

A/N: Thank you to Little Emily, Evil-Angel-23 and long-lollipop-legs for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate it! Thank you also to those who put this story on their alerts and favorites! Here is chapter 3! Oh, and there is a family tree/chart on my profile if you're interested in who's who, as far as children go. I know it can be a bit confusing. And I'm sorry for not updating, but college really wears a girl out!! Although, now that I'm on winter break, I can update more often, like once a week, and I am also currently writing the fifth chapter, so since today is Tuesday, I guess that will be the day I will update every week. I hope you enjoy this one!!

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Nafia's POV

I glared as Karson walked out. He was so rude and disrespectful all the time! I mean, I knew he hated me and my dislike for him wasn't exactly a secret around La Push either, but why did he have to be so rude to Aunt Leah? Aunt Leah had helped raise me, hell she had helped raise all of us, and she was only second to my own mother. How could someone behave like that with their own mother? I know I would never even dare to disrespect a stranger like that, let alone my own mom. And Aunt Leah? She was one of the nicest, sweetest, most caring people I knew. Okay, so she had 'quite the tongue' as my daddy put it, but still, the woman had a heart of gold, and no one deserved treatment like that. Not to mention, the way he treated Destiny and Tucker! I would give anything to have them as my real siblings, and Karson? He just takes them for granted. I have never seen his brothers, Dakota and Aaron, treat them like that. I don't particularly care for either of them. Dakota has always been closer to Noah, my older brother. They have one big group including my cousins, Chayton and Takoda, who are my Aunt Rachel and Uncle Paul's children, Prather, who is Uncle Embry's son, and Ayaan, Uncle Jared's son. Now they all work together in my dad's garage, except for Prather, who runs the theater department at La Push High School. He is the biggest theater geek that ever existed, not to mention my mentor. He has been more of an older brother to me than Noah. But that's beside the point; the point is, Karson Harry Winters, is the rudest, most obnoxious, disgusting, vile person that I have had the displeasure of knowing. I inhaled a deep breath, and just shook my head. Destiny hugged my leg, and snapped my attention from Karson.

"Nafu, you wanna come pway dolls with me?" Her cute hazel eyes were so wide, I just couldn't say no.

"Sure, babe. I missed you, you know." I told her.

"Me too. Karson never plays with me, and Aaron's always out with Aylen. But he pways with me when Aylen comes over. She's really nice too. Not as nice as you though. I still love you the most, Nafi."

"Aww, angel, I love you too. Come on, your toys are waiting for us."

* * *

After I gave Destiny and Tucker one last piggy back ride, I said good-bye to Aunt Leah, Uncle John, Aaron, and the rest. The entire pack had come over. After Uncle Sam started aging like a human, the pack had reunited under my father's leadership, and Dad never replaced anyone as his beta, once Aunt Leah stopped phasing. He just kinda rotated with different people every week. It just wasn't the same he said.

The dinner was nice, but then again, the wolf-girls had always been the best cooks the world had known. So no surprise there. Aylen had important news for me and I had some for her, too. So after my good-byes, Aylen waited for me, and we walked to our spot. It was the cemetery, where all of our Elders were buried. Whenever I needed strength, I came to Grandpa Billy's grave. Aylen and I sat down, at our usual spots. Me in front of Billy's grave and her in front of Quil Sr's.

"So, you first." I said. I knew her news was good news, and mine, well, only time would be the judge of that.

"You sure?"

"Yes, yes, Ay-Ay. Go ahead. Trust me, it's more exciting than what I have to tell you."

"Ok, so, Aaron and I…did it. You know, _it. _The _it._"

I gasped.

"No way!" I exclaimed. "My best friend is no longer a virgin! Wow, this is epic."

"Uhh yeah!! Duh. I can't believe it."

"Yeah, me neither." I stated. Rather blandly, I might add.

There was a good silence for ten minutes. And I had had enough.

"So…was it…good?"

"Ughh!!! NO!!! Not at all. Kinda terrible. Like I really don't understand what all the hype is about. To tell you the truth, it hurt like hell. But I wasn't gonna tell Aaron that and like ruin the mood, you know? So I just…lay there…and he…you know…yeah."

I nodded.

"First times are always painful, I hear. But at least, it's with someone you care about." And suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "He didn't pressure you, did he? Because if he did, I'm gonna kick his ass."

Aylen chuckled, but it wasn't her usual laugh. It had a solemn undertone to it, and I wondered what was going on.

"No, if anything, I pressured him. Na-Na, he's going to phase soon. And I wanted to share that with him. Because it was his first time too. No one, not even an imprint can take that away from us. The fact that we were each other's firsts. And I do love him, more than anything. I'm just scared that he's going to phase, and go off and imprint on someone. And then what will I do? We started talking about it. And I really…just don't know, Naf. But I love him so much. I don't know if I can live without him!" Aylen said, the tears visible in her eyes. I scooted over to hug her. "I'm so lucky to have you, Nafia. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Shhhhh. It's okay. You will be okay, Aylen. It all works out in the end. Isn't that what Aunt Leah has always taught us? You will be happy, no matter what happens." I couldn't stop my own tears, because the thought of the pain my best friend was going to go through, it killed me. Aylen had been the sister that I had always wanted, and even Ahana and Antara, her little sisters, always joked that I was her sister before they were.

"But I don't think I'll ever feel like that about anyone, Naf." Aylen looked up at me. I let her cry some more, until she decided she had cried enough.

"Ok, your turn."

"So, he told me how he felt."

"HE WHAT?"

"Uhh, yeah. He did, and you know what I did, Aylen? You know what I did? I crushed his heart. I told him I hated him, and that I could never love someone like him, because of what he was. Even though, half of my family is what he is." I said, trying to stop the tears. I had promised myself I wouldn't cry over him anymore. I had told myself I was stronger than that. But I was glad I was with my bestie at the moment, because as soon as she wrapped her arms around me, I couldn't take it. The tears didn't seem to want to stop.

"Oh, Nafia. Nafia, I think if you tell your parents, they will understand."

"No, they won't, Ay. You know they won't. Mom, maybe, but Dad? He would never accept this. Even today, you're still the only who knows my secret. And it's going to stay that way. It has to stay that way."

"Nafia, but your happiness matters. Uncle Jake and Aunt Nessie would never be able to forgive themselves, if they felt like they stood in the way of you being happy. And he makes you happy."

"It's too late, Aylen. It's much too late. I would take back every unkind word I said. Everything I told him just so he would get hurt. I wanted him to hate me, so he could forget me. It was the only way."

"Oh, bestie. I'm here for you. We're here for each other. Always have, always will."

"Yeah, I have you. I don't really need anyone else."

Aylen laughed.

"See, this is why Aaron thinks we're secretly lesbians. And then, you kiss my cheek just to piss him off."

"I like pissing him off, just so you know."

"I know, I know."

We both lay back, and gazed at the stars.

"Do you think we'll ever fall in love again? Or find the people we're meant to be with?" I asked her.

She turned to face me, so I did the same.

"I think…even if we don't, we'll learn to live with the fact that the people we love are happy, because at the end of the day, that's what we want, right? The people we love should be happy."

"Yeah, and that doesn't just include Aaron and…you know. It includes our parents as well. I did what I did for their happiness too."

"I know you did, and I support you. I will always have your back, and I know you will always have mine. It's what happens, because we're girls. More than friends, we're sisters. That's why I love you, Nafia."

"Aww, Ay-Ay. I love you, too. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You ready to go home?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking it's time we go home."

I waved at my best friend one last time, and then walked two blocks to my own house. As I walked to the front porch, I saw Karson stumble out of a car, accompanied by one of his skanks. Not that I cared. Because I didn't. It was just disgusting to see someone so drunk that one of their regular whores had to escort them home. I really didn't know how Aunt Leah put up with that boy. Ughh!! Just thinking about him frustrated me. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

I opened the door, and I saw that my mom was setting the table again. We had eaten a few hours earlier, but that was more than enough to make my father and brothers hungry.

"Nafi!!" Luke said, patting the seat next to him.

"Nafi, honey, are you hungry too? I have made more than enough for all of us to eat again, although, I'm full."

"Nahh, Mom. I'm okay."

"Whoa! She's actually talking." Noah said.

"That's because I have an idiot older brother, who is stupid and can't read my mind." I said, looking pointedly at him.

"All right, you two, that's enough. Noah, apologize to your sister."

"What? She gets nothing? Dad, why do you always take her side?"

"Because Mom always takes yours." I said. It was true, though. My mom thought Noah was the best thing that graced the face of the earth. I thought he was just an idiot.

"Nafia, you know I don't differentiate between my children." My mom cut in.

"I'm not saying you differentiate between us. I'm just saying, Noah's a Momma's Boy."

"Yeah, and you're not a Daddy's Girl, Naf." Noah said.

"I am. Through and through, I don't deny it." I shrugged, getting up and giving my dad a big hug.

"Stop it, you two." My mom said, tired of our normal bickering.

I sat back down and realized that the more I looked at the food, the hungrier I got. While I didn't get my brothers' and dad's wolf appetite, I did like human food more than my mom did.

* * *

After our second dinner, as I was getting ready for bed, Luke came into my room.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." He replied. I knew something was up. Luke and I had a much better relationship than Noah and I. Noah was always around his friends from the very beginning. Luke was close to me from the very beginning. I guess it had been because Noah and I considered each other competition. Luke was my baby from the very beginning.

"You okay?" I asked, even though I knew he wasn't.

"You know I'm not, Nafi."

"What's wrong, Luke?"

"I'm such a failure. I'm such a dud."

"No, you're not, Lukey. You know that. Why would you think that?"

"Because! Nafia, I'm fifteen, and I still haven't phased yet! Noah does well in school, you, you're perfect at like everything. What am I good at? Nothing. I'm just dumb loser Luke."

I gave him a big hug.

"Luke, you're amazing. Okay, so you don't do as well as Noah and I do in school. But that doesn't mean that you're not worth anything. Luke, we love you, and no offense, all the stuff you said, doesn't really make much sense. I know you know better than that. I don't think you should brood too much on that, and I think you're a wonderful part of our family. I love you, Luke. And I know, Mom, Dad, and Noah do too. I don't know why you're talking like this."

"But I still feel like a failure. Never mind. It was stupid of me to think that you would understand."

"Luke!" I called out as he walked out. I sighed. He had never said anything like this before, and I don't know why he felt like this now. I would talk to him later. Mom and Dad said he was going to phase soon. So I knew his hormones were raging, and that he would just need some time alone. But still, I couldn't help but think, did he really feel that way? If he did, then I would have to talk to him. Until then, all I could do was waiting until Luke phased.

* * *

A/N: So, this is just like a filler, more or less, although, we did learn about Nafia's secret, but I didn't tell you everything, because where would be the fun in that? Do tell me what you think, so please leave reviews!! Please and thank you!!


	5. Chapter 4: Hate Kisses

A/N: All right, here is chapter 4. But before that, thank you to Evil-Angel-23 and Little Emily for the reviews!!

* * *

Karson's POV

It was the first day of school. First day of my senior year, and already, girls literally threw themselves at me. Not that I was surprised, because I wasn't surprised at all. This had been a normal occurrence after I had turned fifteen. And now, at the age of seventeen, I was used to all of them. I knew which girls were good, and which ones were very good, and which girls were the best. I smiled at Allie, my counterpart, I guess. I slept with everyone and so did she. I had hooked up with her more than anyone else. And sex with her was just really fun. She came over and put her arms around my neck.

"My, my, did somebody grow over the summer. So, Karson, I expect we'll be seeing each other soon."

"Maybe. Maybe not. It just depends."

She crinkled her eyes at me as I gently removed her arms from around my neck.

"Karson, it's been a tradition since we were in the tenth grade. We have our…meetings within the first week of school."

"I know, babe. And I'm not saying we won't have our usual, meeting, as you put it. I'm just saying, we may not be meeting as often."

"Who do you have your eye on now?"

"The ultimate prize."

Her eyes dawned with realization.

"So, you're finally giving into the sexual tension that's always existed between you and Nafia?"

"Well, it's just that she's only one I haven't slept with, and she sure is feisty." I said truthfully. Despite how much I hated her, or perhaps because of it, I had always felt attracted to her.

"You've gotten pretty close, though. You two and your 'hate kisses'. Isn't that one your traditions, too? Besides, you two would be good for each other. She would tame you and you would bring out her wild side."

I leaned towards her and whispered,

"Girl, there isn't anyone out there who could tame Karson Harry Winters. And it sure as hell ain't Nafia Black. Not to mention, I don't think a prude like her would have a wild side."

I smirked and walked off to my first class.

* * *

It was lunch and I hadn't done anything to piss Nafia off yet. And I was itching to. We were in most of the same classes since we both took all the advanced classes our small high school had to offer. And not only that, we would be taking some basics for college at night together too. Except she didn't know that…yet. And I figured, now was a good time as any other to tell her. I went over to where she was animatedly chatting with Aylen. I saw the bored look on Aaron's face vanish once I came over. He loved it when I pissed off Nafia too…initially at least, like when I actually do the 'pissing her off' part. Once it gets to the 'Nafia venting' stage, he doesn't like it so much because then he doesn't get much time with Aylen.

"So, Ms. Princess, how is your first day of school going?"

"What do you want, Winters?"

"Nothing. Just making conversation."

She snorted.

"Yeah, I'm gonna turn into a deer and run away right after lunch. Get to the point, Winters."

"Well, Black, it's just I think we should be friends."

"We haven't been for the past sixteen of my life and the past seventeen of yours. Why the hell would we start now?"

"Because, we're going to be spending a lot of time together."

"What do you mean? I know we have like all the same classes here, but it's been that way since we were little. And the only times we would talk was to insult each other."

"Yep. But now, it's not just school, we'll be seeing each other in the evenings too."

"Hah. I'll have you know that-"

"That you'll be taking classes at the local community college in the evening. Me too. You're taking History; you and Aylen both are. So are Aaron and I."

She immediately turned to her best friend, who had already anticipated the question,

"I didn't put them up to this, I promise. And Aaron, I thought you said you didn't wanna do this with me, when I offered."

"Yeah, but then Karson persuaded me." Aaron said.

"Ughh!! Aylen, this is totally screwing up with our girl time that we were going to have in the evenings. Karson, this is entirely your fault!"

"Sorry, just doing my job."

"You make it seem like your job is to annoy the hell outta me!" Nafia exclaimed.

"Nah, that's just a hobby. My job is to be a good twin brother."

"And how are you being a good twin brother by taking away my time with my best friend?"

"Simple. I'm giving him time with his girlfriend. The time that you normally monopolize anyway." I replied. I knew exactly what to do to push her buttons, and I knew I probably should have stopped, but damn, it was just so fun.

"I _monopolize_ her time? Me? You know what, I don't even want to discuss this with you." She sighed, leaving the table.

Aylen whipped to face my brother.

"Nafia monopolizes my time? Is that really what you think, Aaron? You know that's not true. I always cancel my plans with her for you. She and I used to have a girls' night every Saturday, and now we only have them like once a month, if even that. I haven't seen my best friend all summer, and you talk about her monopolizing my time?"

And Aylen left too.

"Did I say something?" Aaron said, all confused.

"Nah. They're just girls." I replied.

"Dude, why are girls so weird? It's like they get emotional about the dumbest things."

"I don't know man. I don't I'll ever know…and I don't think any sane guy will either."

Aaron just shrugged, and so did I. But what Allie had said was true. A 'hate kiss' between me and Nafia was a tradition that had started between us since we were fourteen.

_I was listening to a lecture from my mom about how I had been getting out of hand lately, and now that high school was starting, I had better get my act together. Truth was, she was always going on and on about how Nafia was perfect. _I_ was her son, damn it. Her real son that she gave birth to. Nafia wasn't her child, so then why was my mom so proud of her? It had always been like this. I had always competed with Nafia and she always beat me. Not only was she better when it came to school, but because of her half-vamp genes or whatever the hell she was, she was always faster than me, stronger than me. It hurt my man-pride. I couldn't wait until I phased, not because I wanted to be a protector or anything, but just because I wanted to beat Nafia._

_Speaking of the devil, there she stood in the backyard, talking to Aylen. We were getting ready to have a barbeque at our place, and so all the wolf-girls had been here all morning cooking. Of course, little Miss Prissy Pants was here, too. But then Aaron came over, and she just smiled at Aylen, and left. As she came into the kitchen, I went too._

"_Karson, I'm talking to you!" My mom exclaimed. "Where the hell do you think you're going, kid?"_

"_I'm gonna learn something from Nafia, Mom. Isn't that what you're always asking me to do anyway?"_

_  
"I know what you're up to, kid." My mom said, following, muttering something about me always giving her a hard time._

"_So, Black, what is this I'm hearing? You're gonna give up on that stupid music camp of yours? You're not gonna go back? What, that place not good enough for you? I swear, you're such a Daddy's Princess. So, tell me, what exactly happened, huh? Or did the little princess fail?"_

"_Just shut up, Karson."_

"_Damn girl, you feeling okay? You actually used my name. What the hell is wrong with you?"_

"_Please, I'm not in the mood at the moment."_

"_But I am. And that's all I care about."_

"_Karson, leave Nafia alone."My mom said. "I'm-actually not just me, the entire fucking pack is tired of you two fighting. And Karson, I know I've taught you better. Nafia, I'm sorry for him bothering you."_

"_It's okay, Aunt Leah."_

_I let her go back outside where she began talking to her brother, Noah, and his friends, which included my brother Dakota and my cousin, Prather. She was laughing at something Prather said. She sure didn't look upset to me; she probably just wanted to make me look dumb in front of my own mother. After that, she went to get some more food so I walked up to her._

"_What the hell is your problem? Weren't you heartbrokenly devastated like two seconds ago? What happened now, huh?"_

_She just rolled her eyes and began to walk away. I don't know what came over me, but I grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her into a kiss. But it wasn't sweet, romantic, thoughtful or anything else a kiss should be. I just pressed my lips against her really hard, and I didn't make any efforts to soften it up. She kissed back equally hard and that made it all the more enjoyable. We weren't doing anything in a fit of passion or whatever. It was pure dislike for each other that was driving this. When we pulled apart, we were both breathing heavily. I was pretty sure that was her first kiss, and I was pretty sure she didn't want me to be her first. But before Nafia could do anything, I felt someone grab the back of my shirt, and then everything went black…_

_When I woke up, I had learned that Noah had punched me for kissing Nafia, and when I pleaded that she kissed me back, and that it wasn't even really a real kiss, my mom yelled at _me_. I mean, seriously, what the hell? Everyone left, and Nafia came into the room._

"_I feel bad that my brother punched you, but you kinda deserved it. What were you thinking? Kissing me like that?"_

"_Umm, newsflash, you kissed back."_

"_Could you even call that a kiss, Karson? It had no feeling in it-"_

"_Except hate. The only reason I did what I did was because I hate you so much."_

"_But it still doesn't count. Karson, a kiss represents how much people care about each other. And we just…"_

"_Well, then, it was a hate kiss."_

"_That's an oxymoron."_

"_You're just a regular moron."_

"_Ughh. I came here to apologize on my brother's behalf, not to argue with you." She sighed, turning around, when I grabbed her again, and pulled her close._

"_Well, you know what, Ms. Nafia Umaang Black, it's not like I particularly care for you, either."And then I pushed her away. She stomped off, and I was happy._

"Yo, bro? Dude, Ay, I think he's gone. I don't know what daze he's been in after lunch. He didn't even answer to the teacher when she called on him. Especially after she called on Nafia, who didn't say the right answer. You had your chance to pass her up, and you totally ruined it."

"Aaron, are you taking me out for ice cream or not?" Aylen asked.

"Well, I was just gonna see if Karson wanted to come or not, or if he wanted me to drop him home first."

"Nah. I gotta meet up with Allie. You guys go ahead." I said, pulling out my phone, and texting Allie. She texted back telling me to wait for her in front of the bathroom. As I stood outside the bathroom, I heard the door open and I thought it would be Allie. But soon I caught her scent, and I knew it was Nafia. Yes, Nafia Black had a scent, like the forest after the rain. I couldn't resist the opportunity.

"So, Aaron told me you had an epic fail moment."

"Leave me alone, Karson. Not in the mood." She said, but when was she ever going to realize that saying such things would only encourage me?

"You know, it's sad. You don't even have the 'I'm only human' excuse. Say, what are you? A leech? A wolf? Oh, wait, I forgot! You're not either! I bet you get confused." I leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "In fact, I bet that you get so confused between your leech genes and your wolf genes, that every time you go near a human, you don't know whether to attack them or protect them."

She turned around, and grabbed me to give me our traditional 'hate kiss'. This was exactly what I was going for. She pushed me against the wall, hitting me and continuing to just press her lips harder against mine. I pressed back, and I would let her know she wouldn't win anymore. I pushed her, and she pulled back, surprised at my strength.

"You have no right to judge me. You have no…" And then she left before I would get the chance to see her cry, because she knew how much satisfaction it would give me.

"Are you guys done?" I heard Allie's voice drip with sarcastic amusement. "I don't see why you two just admit you don't like each other."

"Because we _don't_ like each other."

"Right. And you and I are actually in love with each other, Karson." Allie said.

I smirked.

"Shouldn't we be getting busy?" I asked.

She flicked her nail across my cheek teasingly.

"You seem to be in a hurry, big boy."

"It's not me, it's the _big boy _that's in a hurry."

Before I knew it, we were in her car, and soon in her house. That's the one thing I liked about Allie that she always knew we would meet at her house. The only time I brought home girls was to piss my parents off. But I had no desire to go home today. I would call Aaron, and he would bring me a pair of new clothes. I would just shower at Allie's…rather, with her.

"You want anything?" Allie asked.

"Yeah, you know what I want, Allie."

"Well, then come and get it." She said, and I sure did. I picked her up, and she immediately wrapped her legs around my waist, attacking my lips with her own. So naturally, I led us into her bedroom…

* * *

"Damn, is it just me, or did you, you know, _grow?_"

"Allie, I would tell you, but then, I would have to kill you."

"What's that off of?" She said, wearing her shirt.

"Ahh, I don't remember. I'm hungry." But I wanted some home-cooked food, not the frozen dinners Allie usually ate. I guess I would have to go home after all. I got up, and wore my clothes.

"You aren't gonna spend the night?"

"Nah. I kinda wanna eat dinner at home tonight."

"But you usually stay over. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just…am craving my mom's cooking." She nodded, and smiled.

"Well, I'm gonna go shower. I'll see you at school." I nodded. I dialed Aaron's number.

"Word." He said.

"Hey man, you wanna come get me from Allie's?"

"You're not spending the night over?"

"No, I'm kinda craving Mom's home cooking."

"All right, I'll be over in a few."

"Thanks." I said, hanging up.

Allie was still in the shower when Aaron came. I yelled good-bye through the bathroom door, and skipped out to meet my brother, and jumped into the car.

"Man, someone's eager to go home." Aaron commented as we began to drive home.

"Yeah, those frozen dinners at Allie's won't feel me up anymore. I swear, I can feel the wolf appetite building up."

"Yeah, me too."

"And the senses too, you know. I could actually smell Black today."

"We can smell colors once we phase? I didn't know that."

"I meant the girl, Nafia Black, Aaron. I smelt her."

"Ahh. Yeah, I can smell Aylen too. She smells so nice."

"Aaron, I don't need you to start your rant on how wonderful Aylen is." I said exasperatedly.

"Well, we're here."

As I walked into the house, my mom smiled.

"How was the first day of school, boys?"

"It was good, Mom." Aaron said, hugging her.

"And what about you, Kar?"

"It was all right, Mom. Nothing special." I said, sighing. When will she learn that I'm not a little child anymore?

"Good. Come on, dinner's ready."

"Good. I'm really hungry."

"Karson. I'm glad you're home tonight."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it, Mom."

"Karson, I'm tired you being disrespectful to your mom. Now you and I both know that that is not the way your mother and I raised you. I'm sick of you treating her like that. And this has to stop. You were never like this before."

"You know what, Dad, I don't really care, because Mom doesn't care about me, obviously. Nafia's the center of her world."

"KARSON!! Why would you say that? You know that's not true." My mom said, tears almost in her eyes. I knew I had hurt my mom, but she had hurt me too. Every single time she compared me to Nafia, she just killed my confidence.

"Mom, please. I don't an explanation from you."

But I guess I had gone too far, because my dad came and I had never seen him so angry.

"John! JOHN! Please. Don't. Karson, honey, I'm sorry. Here, just come and eat."

It was a very quiet dinner. Even little Tucker didn't say anything. I felt a little guilty, but I was sick of this. I was sick of everything. I ate, and went straight to my room, falling onto my bed and soon, I was asleep.

* * *

I was thirsty in the middle of the night, and I heard my mom talking to my dad as I passed their room.

"I just don't know what to do about that boy. At first, I thought it was just a phase, but I'm really worried now. John, what are we going to do?"

"Leah, I feel like everything will be fine once he phases. It will give him a way to channel all his energy and aggression. And plus, you know his hormones are raging, now that he's getting ready."

"Oh dear God, I hope that day comes soon. I'm so worried about him."

"It will be okay, Leah. I promise, it will be okay."

"I don't know, John. I don't know." And then my mom burst into tears. I wanted to go and comfort her, more than anything, I wanted to go hug her and tell her I was sorry, but I just couldn't. I don't know why, but it was so damn hard. I shut my eyes before my own tears would fall, and forgot all about my thirst. I just went back to my room, and went back to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Aww, that last part was a little sad, if I do say so myself. Very sad, actually. But it's necessary. But I do promise that things will get better. I know the pace is slow, but things start picking up in a couple chapters. I'm about to write chapter 7 write now, and I seem to have lost my muse, BUT I shall continue writing for you my pretties. Also, are you of interested in reading stuff by me on FictionPress? Do let me know what you guys think!! So please leave reviews!!! Thank you!!


	6. Chapter 5: Life Sucks, Then You Die

A/N: And now for chapter 5. But first, I would like to thank Evil-Angel-23, Little Emily, and Bubble . Gum . Green (sorry for the spaces between your name, but it erases it otherwise) for the wonderful reviews. They mean a lot to me, and I really do appreciate them. And I know you all hate for not being updating, and I'm sorry! :(, but school really does take up one's time. I would like a few more people to review though. It would make me happy, and definitely encourage me to update more often.

* * *

-NAFIA-

It had been a week since school started, and I swear, I didn't know time could fly so fast. I stretched and got out of bed. I glanced at the clock, and read 6:30. Damn, I was never up this early. I usually got up by seven or so, and that was early since school really didn't start until about eight. But I was hungry, so I went downstairs, because the aroma was already filling the house.

"Good Morning, Mom!" I said, giving her a hug and a kiss.

"You're up early, love. You sleep well?" My mom asked, and I could see the concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, I slept fine, Mom. I just got up a little early today, I guess. I don't know why."

"Good Morning to my favorite girls!!" I turned around to see the one, the only, Jacob Black. My Daddy. I immediately ran over to hug him, and jumped on his back.

"That wasn't exactly without warning, I heard your thoughts." He said, chuckling.

"Of course, you did, Daddy. I wanted you to." I said, resting my face on his shoulder.

"You act like a little girl sometimes, Nafia."

"I am a little girl. I'm your little girl." Well, it was true.

"Yeah, she acts like a ninety-year old grandmother the rest of the time." And Noah was up. I immediately scrambled off my dad, and ran over to jump on my brother, which I guess he anticipated, since he swiftly picked me up by the legs so I was upside down.

"Noah! Put me down!" I yelled.

"Okay." He said, abruptly letting go of me.

"OW! That's not what I meant, and you know it." I hissed.

"Okay, okay, you two, that's it."

"Where's Lukey? He's usually up by this time." I asked.

"I don't know, he wasn't in his room when I passed by this morning." Noah said.

"Wait, if he wasn't in his room, then where was he?" My mom wondered.

Immediately, Dad shifted-no pun intended- into Alpha mode, and I could tell he was tracking Luke's scent, which apparently led to the forest. We all followed him. Until he stopped at a clearing. And I swear, my mother started crying tears of joy. Why? Because Lucas Billy Black, my baby brother had finally phased. Mom and I went in, so my brother and dad could talk to him the pack way.

Soon enough, all three of them came back and we had breakfast.

"All right, this calls for a celebration, and it's a new tradition. Luke, my boy, go get a beer out of the fridge."

"DAD! He's about to go to school." I exclaimed, at the same time, my mother, who looked rather pissed, raised her hand to my dad's cheek and told him something, which changed his mind.

"Okay, okay, I guess not. Since we live with such party-pooping women, we will do this when you come back. And you two can't say no, it's the weekend."

"Jacob, I didn't say no, I just said, not before school. And I agree, it is Friday, so it's all right. In fact, I think we should have a party for Luke tomorrow."

"We agree." Noah and I said simultaneously.

* * *

As I got to school, I said bye to Luke and went off in the direction of my class. I looked to see that Aylen, Aaron, nor Karson were there. And I had that feeling…you know the terrible one, where you just know something is wrong? Yeah, that one; it was deep in my gut. I raised my hand and asked to go to the bathroom. I took out my cell phone to see 54 missed calls and 12 voicemails. They were all from Aylen. I called her, and she picked up on the first ring,

"NAFIA!!! HE BROKE UP WITH ME!!!"

"WHAT!!!!!?" I asked. That bastard would pay. He had promised her that he wouldn't break up with her until he imprinted or someone imprinted on her. What the hell happened?

"Yeah, he called me yesterday and we went to the park, like our first date. Actually, it was basically a reenactment of our first date. And then he…ahhhh. And the idiot hasn't even phased yet but he still…"

"Aylen, babe, don't cry. I'm so sorry, I wasn't there for you. I feel like such a jerk. I'm so sorry. So sorry. I'm here for you. You know what, let's make it a girls' weekend. I'm at school right now, but I'll see if I can leave at lunch. Let's go out tonight, and stay in tomorrow."

"Isn't Luke's party tomorrow?" I wasn't surprised she knew, word traveled faster than vampires among the pack.

"Yeah, which is why it would be perfect. Everyone will be at my house, and we can have our girls' night at your place. Works out immaculately."

"You would say immaculately."

"I would and I did."

"Haha. You know, you already make me feel better. I love you, bestie."

"Aww, I love you too. But I better get back to class. I'm sure Ms. Martin thinks I'm taking a shower by now, since I've spent so much time in here."

"Okay, I'll see you later. Bye, babe."

"Bye amazing!" And then I hung up. Gosh, I felt so guilty. My best friend's world was turned upside down, and I wasn't even there for her.

* * *

I couldn't leave at lunch, since we had a pop quiz in AP chemistry, and no matter how much shit we were in, neither me nor Aylen skipped important days at school. You say nerd, we say…well, nerd, but still, if we want to get into Washington State, we needed stay on top of things. I went straight to Aylen's after school though, seeing Uncle Quil pull out right as I was about to pull in. I rolled down my window, as did he.

"Hey sweety. Thanks for stopping by, she's been wanting to see ya all day. I'm glad you're there for her." Uncle Quil said.

"Aww, Uncle Quil. You know I will always be there for Aylen. I'm taking her to Seattle today."

"Yeah, your dad, Embry and I are all going to Seth's because…we just felt like it. I tried talking to Aylen, but you know I'm not good at that stuff. Take good care of her, and I'll see you later."

"I will, Uncle Quil. I promise."

As I went in, I saw Aunt Claire pulling out some fresh baked cookies, Ay-Ay's favorite. I smiled. It just goes to prove no matter who comes and goes out of your life, your family will always be there with you.

"Hey Aunt Claire. I'll take her a plate." I said.

"Sure, sweety, and I'm glad you came over. She needs you."

"I'm always here for her."

"I know you are, dear. And we love you for that."

I went into Aylen's room, and expected the sight before my eyes. Her sisters, Ahana and Antara were hugging her, trying to console her, but that wasn't what she needed. Aylen needed a reality check.

"Hey loser." I said. Aylen looked up and smiled. Ahana and Antara knew this was their cue to leave.

"I can't believe he did that."

"Really, Ay? Really?"

"Well, okay, so I kinda expected it, but still, he promised. He promised me, Na-Na."

"Well, he's an idiot. He doesn't know what he lost, and you don't need to waste your tears over him. I didn't really approve of him anyway."

"That's just because you hate his brother. And yet he's the only guy you ever kissed."

"Aylen. This is about you, not me."

"Nafia, really, 'hate kisses'?" She air-quoted.

"What? That's what they are!! And you know that…"

"Whatever. I don't wanna argue with you."

"Good."

"Good."

"But still, we need to get you out of your PJs. You can't go to the mall in those clothes, my love."

She laughed as I opened up her closet and took out an outfit. I shoved it in her hands, and then picked her up, thanks to my amazing supernatural strength, and almost threw her in the bathroom.

"You shower, and get ready. I'm gonna feast on cookies, and maybe ice cream too. I don't know…depends on my mood." I said, walking out.

"You do that, girly. And Nafia?"

"Yeah?" I turned around.

"Thanks for doing that."

"Doing what?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Naf. Changing the topic so that I could get my mind off things, so that I would be in a good mood when we go out today. Thanks, Nafi. You really are the best friend a girl could ever have."

"Aww, shucks. But that's enough, go shower. We have to go!!" I said.

* * *

"That looks good, Ay." I said, admiring the way the green strapless dress fitted my friend's figure.

"I still don't get why we're shopping for homecoming. It's still a good month and a half away."

"Uhh yeah!! So then that loser will realize what a big mistake he did. We have to make you look hotter than…than…hotter than a wolf."

"But it's not me."

"Yeah, that is true…but you're not you anymore, Ay."

She changed out of the dress, and came back in her normal clothes.

"Nafia, I can change the way I dress, I can change the way I act, and I change every damn thing about me, but I can't change the fact that I love him. And we can cover it up by doing things like this, but the truth is, I'm not gonna get over him anytime soon…and you of all people should know that."

_I do know that, Ay. Of all people, I know how hard it is how to get over someone you love with all your heart. And I know that it won't be easy for you to get over him. But I also know that you should take this practically. It's not going to be easy, but you have me and your family. And it will be okay, I promise._ I told her using my power.

She smiled and nodded.

"You ready to go to another store?" She asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

And as soon as we were about to walk out, we saw twin dresses. Okay, so they weren't exactly twin dresses because they were different colors, but one was black with a black sequined sash around the waist and one was white with a similar gold sash. I knew the white was perfect for Aylen with her slightly darker skin and the black one for me, with my lighter skin. I turned to look at her, and I saw her grinning at me. We immediately grabbed them, and tried them on. We both came out at the same time, nodding at each other. I quickly went and picked out matching shoes for the both of us. We rushed to the front, and almost screamed together,

"We'll take these." I pulled out a credit card.

"Nafia, please, let me pay for my own dress and shoes." Aylen sighed.

"No, I'll take care of it. But if it makes you happy, you can pay for ice cream."

"Nafia…fine, I know it's useless to argue with you, but I'm paying for our munchies and stuff for tomorrow."

"Done." I said, laughing.

"Oh, you two are just lovely. I hope you two stay best friends forever."

_That's kinda true, I said in my head. Since I am immortal, and because you've got wolf genes too, you live longer than the average human, right Aylen?_

She nodded subtly and if I were a normal human, I would have totally missed that. We walked with our dresses in hand and made our way to the food court.

"Marble Slab?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Do you even need to ask, Nafia?"

"One mint chocolate chip double scoop in a waffle cone and one chocolate chip cookie dough in a waffle cone. Thank you." Aylen said, as she gave the order. She came back with our cones, a smile on her face, and I took my cone, handing her the bag with her dress in it.

"This was nice, Nafia."

"Mmmhmm. This ice cream is nice too. I love chocolate chip cookie dough."

She just shook her head and smiled.

"You ready to go home, Nafi?"

"Yeah, let's go." I said, "You're such a slow human."

"Well, excuse me for not inhaling food like the crazy best friend I have."

"That crazy best friend agrees with you there. LOL."

"Nafia, I tell you this because I love you. It's not cool to say LOL out loud. Really."

"Yeah, well…I'm the epitome of uncool."

"Nafi."

"Ay-Ay."

"You're impossible."

"I know."

"Not gonna argue with you."

And then we both burst into laughter as we climbed into my car.

"Next stop, AGRABA!"

"You and Disney. You know everything in Disney is-"

"Umm yeah, not going there, Ay."

"Why Naf? What did you think I was gonna say?"

"I know what you were gonna say…"

"Haha, yeah, okay, whatever."

"SHUT UP!!!"

"Yeah, I will actually, I'm kinda sleepy. I'm taking a nap. Shopping wears me out."

"Ok. You do that." I said.

* * *

The next morning, I got up early, so I could help Mom with whatever she needed with Luke's party. I was happy he phased, especially after what he and I had talked about. I went downstairs.

"Hey Noah. Where's Mom?" I asked my older brother, seeing him instead of my mom.

"Her and Dad went somewhere, I'm not honestly not sure. They didn't really say…but forget that. Mom said you would make the cake, and she told me to give you this." Noah said, handing me a letter from my mom. It told me to bake the cake, marinade the stuff for the barbeque, and get the stuff for the potato salad. She also wrote that she would take care of the rest.

"All right, I'll do all this. But we're gonna need more potatoes. You wanna run to the store and get me some? In fact, here, I'll make a list of stuff I need you to get." So I wrote down a few things on the back of the note Mom wrote me, and handed it to him.

"Nafia, there are 27 items on this list. And it's seven on a Saturday morning. Mom woke me up and told me to go downstairs and wait until you woke up. I did that. Now I'm going to sleep."

"I bet Mom also told you that you should help me with whatever I need."

"No."

"You're lying, Noah. You're lying right through your teeth, and I can see that."

"Fine. Whatever. I'll get the stuff, then can I go back to sleep?"

"Yes. Really, I mean it."

"Really?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow, his tone skeptical.

"YES REALLY, NOAH!! Just go." I said, pushing him to the door. He glared at me, and left. Stupid older brothers.

* * *

Everyone was at my house, and they all seemed to be having a good time. And again, my heart ached. Ached for the one I knew I could never be with. The one, I knew my family would never accept. But seeing how happy they were, made it worth it. I did the right thing. I did the right thing. But then, why was I feeling so…miserable. I just shook my head, and tried not to think about it. It would just upset me, and I refused to do that. It was just a closed chapter in my life, and I would have to move on. Speaking of moving on, a certain best friend of mine needed me. I had promised Luke that he and I would celebrate on our own later. And Luke being Luke, understood perfectly. He always was a sweetheart. I headed over to where my mom was standing, and said in my head,

_Mom, I'm gonna head over to Aylen's. Unless you have stuff you need me to do? _

She held my hand.

_No, sweety. It's okay. Go ahead, and thanks for all the help today._

_Aww, Mommy. It's totally okay, and I'm sorry I can't be here for the party, but Aylen really needs me right now._

_It's okay, honey. I understand, and more importantly, your brother understands, so it's all good. Besides, he did say you two would do something later to celebrate on your own, so I'm fine with it all._

_All right, Mom. Thanks, I'll head out._

I kissed her cheek, and went upstairs to fetch my overnight bag. I decided it would be more fun to just jump out of the window, just for the thrill of it. I mean, come on, I was always such a good girl, a 'prude' as Karson put it. Ughh, why did that idiot always make his way into things? I wouldn't get irritated by him today, I had Aylen to comfort.

I went in to the Ateara's and into Aylen's room. She was horribly miserable, just laying there on her bed, her eyes red from crying, and I was fairly positive she hadn't eaten all day.

"Hey, Nafi. Look, I'm sorry, I know we had karaoke, movies, doing each others' nails and all of our normal stuff planned, but honestly, I just don't feel like it."

"Aylen, you know I don't care about all that. Tonight is about you. We do whatever you want to do. It's all about you, my dear." I said, smiling.

"Thanks, I can always count on my bestie." She said, patting her bed. Dropping my bag in the corner, I flopped down.

"So, I'm assuming, you're on a venting spree?"

"I swear, it's creepy how well you know me, Nafia."

"You're telling me." I said, dryly, rolling my eyes. She just laughed.

"You know, he always hated that. That at times, you knew me better than he did. He always complained about it."

"He's stupid. It's in his family…well, he gets it from his twin. I like the rest of his family."

"Nafia, I know we've discussed this before, but you do really think we'll ever fall in love again? I mean, the only people getting ready to phase now are the twins, and they sure as hell aren't gonna imprint on us."

"Aylen, I think, eventually, we'll find people that will love us the way we want-"

"But Aaron loved me the way I wanted, Nafia. And that's the only way I've ever wanted to be loved."

"Well, look at it, isn't that what Aunt Leah thought about Uncle Sam? But obviously fate had other plans for her, and look at her now, she's probably the happiest out of all of us. Although, resident asshole of a manwhore sure knows how to make her unhappy. She's so uncharacteristically patient with Karson. Just looking at them makes me sad."

"You know, Aaron told me, that Leah tried everything with Karson. She tried to be strict and that didn't work. She's trying to be patient, and while it doesn't exactly work, Aaron did say, Karson likes that better, so that's what Aunt Leah does. Aaron's tried to talk to him about it, and even that doesn't work."

"Nothing is going to work with him. I just feel sorry for the girl who he is going to imprint on."

"Me too. I don't I could ever live with anyone like that."

"Haha. Live? I doubt the girl will be able to stand him for a minute."

"Watch all this be wrong, and him imprint on someone who falls at his feet. Speaking of falling at his feet, now I can't glare at all the girls at school who always stare at Aaron. He's not mine anymore."

And then Aylen just burst into tears.

"I hate it, Nafia. I hate being this weak. I hate not being able to let go. I hate it so fucking much."

And then, I couldn't contain my own tears, because I was torturing myself day and night with the same thoughts.

"You're not weak, Ay. You're stronger than you think. At least, I don't have to deal with seeing that person everyday. And if you ever feel like you're weak, look back, and you'll see this crazy best friend of yours, right behind you. I got your back."

"Yeah, I'm not the one who sacrificed my first love for my family's happiness, without their knowledge."

"Aylen. You know, and you're practically family."

"Love sucks."

"No…life sucks, then you die."

* * *

A/N: All right, what do you think? I know the pace is slow, but things will pick up soon, I promise. In the meantime, I would like it if you guys could leave reviews. I want to know what YOU guys think, after I do write for my audience! So please let me know!! Good night!! Or day, or whatever time it may be when you happen to be reading this.


	7. Chapter 6: Oh SHIT! I PHASED!

A/N: Okay, so first of all, I am so excited that HRI is picking up as far as reviews go!! Eight reviews for this chapter! That really makes me sooo happy! Thank you so much everyone. Thank you to Evil-Angel-23, Courtney, Bubble . Gum . Green, Little Emily, brankel1, kellar89, MintCcIceCream, kmddeprez1122 for the AWESOME reviews! And just for you guys, chapter 6. And this is in Karson's point of view. And I also think things begin to get interesting in this chapter.

* * *

It would happen anyday, I could feel it. And I had to admit, initially, I wasn't really excited about phasing. But I could feel the pride my father and mother always talked about. I don't know why, because honestly, I had never anticipated phasing. I guess it was just the hormones raging, but there was a certain rush attached to phasing, and it throbbed in my very veins. Aaron and I always raced each other for fun, but lately, we had been doing so to see how much faster we had been getting. My older brother Dakota said he hadn't seen a wolf faster than me in human form, and if I was this fast in human form, well, I would just wipe the floor with everyone in wolf form. I couldn't wait to show off how fast I was, especially to Nafia. The need to be near her was overbearing now. I just attributed it to the fact that I could finally beat her at something.

"Hey Kar, Mom said we're not going to school this week." Aaron said, coming into my room.

"Not at all? It's Monday, Aaron, and it's not like Mom to let us just keep the whole week."

"You know how she took our temperature yesterday?" I nodded.

That was another thing, Mom kept on taking our temperature every day, seeing the one or two degree difference. It annoyed the hell out of us, but I let her do that. She did with Dakota, Prather, Lise, and every other wolf…except Noah and Luke because they had always been warm.

"Yeah, so Mom was all, 'It's gonna happen anytime now, so you two can't go to school this week.'." Aaron finished.

"Does this mean I can go back to sleep?" I asked.

"Yeah, dude. I totally am."

"NOT SO FAST, KIDDOS!!!"

Ahh, and that would be my cousin, Prather, La Push'a Drama King. Quite literally. After graduating, he took over the La Push High School Drama department. Out of all my cousins, Prather was definitely my favorite. There he stood, in all his glory, grinning like the idiot he was.

"Dakota tells me you are line to be the next Beta?"

"What? Where the hell did that come from?"

"Well, he said, that you were faster than anyone in the pack yet…so I inferred you're probably gonna be the next official Beta…carrying on your mom's legacy, I see."

"Prather, dude, let me phase first. Then we will see if I become the Beta or not…besides, doesn't Uncle Jake just rotate every week?"

"Yeahhhhh, but that's because every one's been a disappointment."

"Umm, I'm pretty sure Jake would never say something like that."

"He didn't. I said that. But still, that's the reason why. It's because he misses the Beta your mom was, and I did quote him on that."

"Oh. But really, I'll be a new wolf, I don't think Uncle Jake would take a risk like that."

"But if you're capable bud, Uncle Jake wouldn't think twice about it. And it's pretty damn obvious that you're capable."

"Prather…"

"Yes, that is my name, and has been my entire life. Would you like to add anything else?"

"Shut up, loser." N999990/

"Karson, it's not nice to talk to yourself."

"Prather!! Fine, you win."

"Hey Karson, man. It's nice to see you again."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You'll know. One day, you'll know what I mean. And I shall wait for that day, like Romeo waited for Juliet!" Prather said, raising the back of his hand to his forehead, and prancing away.

"And then he gets mad when people question his sexuality." I turned to tell Aaron.

He just laughed and shook his head.

"All right, you wanna go back to sleep?" He asked.

"Nah. I'm not really sleepy anymore."

"You want some breakfast? Mom and Dad are helping Embry at the store, Dak's at Jake's garage, and the kids are at school."

"You wanna go over to Grandma's? Because I'm not in the mood for milk and cereal for breakfast."

"Umm, yeah, about that…there's basically none left anyway. If you hadn't said it, then I would have. About going to Grandma's, I mean."

"You ate it all, Aaron?"

"It's not my fault!! I was hungry!"

"There are other people in this house, Aaron! It's not always about you."

"You're not one to talk, Karson. The guy who doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself is giving me shit about eating a little extra, especially since I'm about to phase."

I began to shake. My brother's words hurt like hell. Mainly because they were true, but still, he didn't have to say that.

"How about you shut the fuck up, Aaron?"

"Why? You're a big man now, right, Kar? Can't you handle the truth? Have you ever given a second thought about how you treat Mom? How you talk back to Dad? How you never give Destiny and Tucker the attention they deserve?"

"Why the hell are you bringing this up now, huh? Why didn't you stop me when it all started?"

"I did. You sure as hell know I tried my best, but then I gave up too. Mom tries every damn day. And you still treat her like shit."

"Man, fuck you!"

"That's all you ever think about, Kar. Getting a quick fuck. Did you ever stop and think about your family? If you can't even handle this, then how the hell are you going to raise your own?"

"You know what, I don't need this, especially not from you."

"Why? You can't handle the truth?"

"The truth? You know how I feel about everything, damn it. And I expected a little support from you, Aaron."

"You and I both know that I have supported you in everything, and it's about time I quit."

"You're quitting on me, bro? _You're_ quitting on me? Well, you know what, I don't fucking need you anyway."

Aaron just shook his head.

"You know, Kar, I feel sorry for you man, really sorry. You always end up hurting the people that love you the most."

"I do that? Says the guy who broke up with his girlfriend, just because he was about to phase."

"Don't you dare bring Aylen into this."

"Why? It's really easy to hear the truth, right? Isn't that why you're giving me a lecture?"

"It's different with Aylen and me. I don't want to ruin her life, and you know that. I don't want to do to her what Uncle Sam did to Mom."

"Well, Mom's life turned to be pretty good didn't it? So Aylen will get the one she deserves to be with too! Why are you so worried?"

"I never thought you would turn out like this. I never raised you to be this way. And above all things, Karson, I sure as hell didn't think my own fucking son would make fun of the pain I endured when Sam left me. Sure as hell didn't."

And that would be Leah Clearwater Winters coming into my room. I rolled my eyes as my mom just shook her head and continued her dumbass lecture going on and on about me being terrible. I just got up and walked out, shaking my head, when a hand grabbed the back of my shirt, turned me around, punched me in the face.

"What the hell, Aaron?!!" I screamed, lunging at him. Normally, I would wonder why my mom was doing nothing to stop this, but right now, I couldn't give a fuck. I swung at my brother, and missed. He was about to hit me, when I ducked, and punched his stomach. He hurled over, and I took a shot at his face, giving him no time to react. I heard his jaw crack, but figured I would apologize later. It would heal eventually anyway. Suddenly, Aaron started shaking, and apparently, I was too. All this was so weird. I felt like I was about to explode and I heard two sharp _RIPS._

I saw my mom leave, and come back as a wolf. She grinned.

**My plan worked. So boys, how does it feel?**

And suddenly, I got it. I phased…OH SHIT!!! I PHASED!!!!

* * *

A/N: And they phased…yes, I know it's been bland until now…but since we've had some phasing, there's also the possibility of…? Can you guess? And this chapter was short compared to my other ones, only an 11 page word document. Oh well, but we have some very interesting things coming up in the next chapter!!! Good night!! Or morning or afternoon, whatever it is wherever you may be, oh wonderful readers!


	8. Chapter 7:A Moment Can Change Everything

A/N: So, I know you all hate me because I haven't updated in forever! And that is pretty much my fault. I really have been so busy, like no breathing room whatsoever. But enough excuses. And here is chapter 7 in Nafia's POV. I hope you like it!! And this chapter is dedicated to a very good friend of mine. Aylen reminds me of her, despite the fact that Aylen's character had been conceived in my mind much earlier before I had known her. This one is for you girl!! You're amazing!! And also thank you to dbgothicprincess, Evil-Angel-23, MintCcIceCream, lewislahver127, kmddeprez1122, peacelovextwlight30, and Imadingdong05 for the amazing reviews! You guys seriously have no idea how much they mean to me! Thank you so much! Every time I read them, they encourage me to go on further. I know I have been really bad about updating, but since this is spring break, I'm hoping to get lots of writing done, so that even if I don't get to write, I can at least write enough to where I can still update even if I can't write. But anyway, thank you guys for all the love you have shown to my story and me! Also thank you to those who added this story to their favorites and alerts. Thank you so much!

* * *

It killed me to see her like this. I had spent the entire week at Aylen's house. Aylen was horribly heartbroken, of course, I knew how it felt. But my pain was nothing compared to hers. She could have had a future with Aaron, and it would have been okay. For me, even dreaming that wasn't possible. But I had never imagined that a strong, level-headed girl like Aylen would let it get to her. I had closed the doors to my heart, and I was never going to let anyone in. But Aylen, she had a chance. And I was going to knock some sense into that idiot. Aylen hadn't even eaten until yesterday, that too, when I practically shoved the food down her throat. She tried her best not to cry in front of her family, especially Uncle Quil. I was surprised he hadn't killed Aaron yet, but then again, I knew how much he cared about Aunt Leah, and well, she wouldn't have been happy about that. Still, someone needed to tell Aaron what Aylen was going through. Even if he did imprint, I was going to make sure his imprint hated him. Or something along those lines. I understood where he was coming from, that he didn't want Aylen to get hurt if he imprinted on someone else. In fact, I was glad he thought about Aylen in terms of that. But at the same time, he also promised her that they would stay together until he imprinted. I almost put that idiot in my good books when he did that. But no, he had to go and break my best friend's heart. I saw that Aylen was still asleep, and I decided I wouldn't wake her up. She had finally gotten some rest. I decided to leave for Aunt Leah's house.

When I went in, because as always, the door was open. It seemed like no one was home. I went into the kitchen hoping to find at least Aunt Leah. I knew the kids would be at school, and Dakota and Uncle John were probably at work. But where were the twins? They hadn't been in school all week long, and it was Friday today. If they weren't home, where were they? I went upstairs and peeked into all the rooms. Nothing. I sighed in exasperation. Just when I actually decide to have a conversation willingly with one of the two biggest idiots La Push had ever seen, I couldn't find them. For some odd reason, it just occurred to me to check the backyard. Suddenly, it all made sense, the twins were nowhere to be found, and they hadn't been in school all week. What if…? No, it couldn't be. If the twins had phased, then my Dad would have told me. Or at least, Noah or Luke would have. And even if they didn't, Prather would have. Dakota would have been bragging about his brothers too. I would have known somehow. But that didn't eliminate the possibility entirely…I shrugged and decided it wouldn't hurt to look.

* * *

I had waited a good thirty minutes, and I decided it was time to head back. But I heard...paws? I turned around to see a large grey wolf. I couldn't make out if it was Aaron or Karson. Cautiously, I made my way towards it, and seeing me, it fled into the forest. I assumed it was Karson, because only he would have a reaction like that to me. Aaron and I didn't get along, but that was only because we were constantly vying for Aylen's time, which, by the way, I do not monopolize. Regardless, I followed him, and I realized, whichever one this was, he had gotten much faster. I had always raced Karson when we were younger, and I couldn't help but take a little pride in the fact that I had always beaten him. But whichever one it was, I had to catch up to him, so I ran faster than I ever had, managing to grab a hold of his tail, and I yanked hard. The wolf cried, and turned around at lunge himself at me. He pinned me down, but only because I let him. He huffed. And I asked him,

"Which one are you? Karson or Aaron?"

Then I felt like an idiot, because he couldn't speak.

"Well, you have to be one of them."

The wolf nodded, rolling its eyes. Great, even in wolf form, the twins never ceased to mock me.

"Well, do you mind phasing back so I can see which loser you are?" I said.

He only pinned me down further, shaking his head. But then finally, his scent hit me, and I realized it was Aaron.

"Aaron?"

The wolf nodded, as if it were obvious.

"We need to talk. Can you please phase back?" I asked as politely as I could. He shook his head. I was about to say something, when I saw my best friend behind Aaron. Seeing me, I guess he turned too.

"Ay-Ay, what are you doing here?" I asked her.

"I woke up and you weren't there. And knowing you, I figured you wanted to talk to Aaron. When I reached Aunt Leah's, I saw you running behind a wolf…Aaron, is that you?"

Aaron didn't say anything; he stood there, like an idiot, with a look I had never seen on his face before.

"Aaron, please come back. I miss you and I know you miss me too. Aaron, don't leave me. I can't do this. It would be different if you imprinted because then I would know you would be happy, but leaving me for no good reason?" And then Aylen broke down. With all my might, I pushed the idiot of me, and held my best friend.

"Sshhh, Ay-Ay. It's okay. We don't need to start this here. Besides, he shouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing you cry. Don't give him that." I scathed. I wanted Aaron to hear how I felt. I never thought anyone could stoop so low, but he proved me wrong and the last thing I wanted was for him to see her like this. I narrowed my eyes, as Aaron trotted over, and I was even more appalled when Aylen reached out to pet him. I slapped her hand away.

_Don't do that. Aylen, the only person you're hurting is yourself. He's not worth it._

"Well then, what do you want me to do, Nafia? I can't live like this." Aylen cried. I was about to say something when I saw Aaron approaching Aylen, and I couldn't stop the words from falling out of my mouth.

"Aylen, go from here. Go now, I'll handle him. He doesn't need to see you like this." I pushed her away. Aaron lunged for her, and I saw Aylen scared out of her wits, so I held his hind legs, keeping him away from her. "Go Aylen. NOW!!!!!!"

Aaron turned around and tried to attack me, and I yelled at Aylen to go again. I could she was scared, so I told her,

"I'm fine. Just go now!"

"No, Nafia. I can't leave you. Aaron, please stop!" She said.

"Aylen, I will be fine. Even if something does happen, I will heal just like wolves do. You know that, but you really need to leave. Go now!"

She finally took my advice, and Aaron continued to wrestle me. And I guess I made him mad enough to phase back, and I immediately shielded my eyes.

"Could you please go put on some clothes?" I said, making a face. He came back, wearing shorts, making me a little more comfortable.

"Better?" He asked sarcastically, and I really resisted beating the shit out of him. Not that I could, with him being all well-built, and that wouldn't go down well with Aylen. But a girl can hope right?

"Much." I shot back. "Now do you care to explain why you did what you did?"

"Well, I was scared, but I didn't know it was going to happen! Or else, I would have never broken up with her!! I promise."

"Huh?" I asked. What did Aylen see in this guy?

"You're talking about Aylen and I breaking up right?"

I rolled my eyes.

"No. I meant, why did you try to kill me just now?!!"

"Well what else do you expect me to do when you drive the love of my life away?" He spat.

"Oh, so now, she's the love of your life."

"Well, yeah! Her and I were always meant to be together. And even you can't ignore that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I imprinted on Aylen, Nafia! And you say, I'm dense…"

"Umm, one, you are dense. Two, WHAT THE HELL? HOW?? And Three, how the hell was I supposed to know??" I screamed. But I was…happy. Overjoyed. Because my best friend, my sister, my Ay-Ay would be okay. This imprinting, well it pretty much fixed everything.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'HOW?'?"

I sighed. Arguing with Dopehead would get me nowhere.

"All right…well, we need to fix this. You've hurt her really bad, but this changes everything. And I have a plan. Because you can't just tell her you imprinted on her, and expect her to believe you. Trust me on this one."

He sighed.

"I know. I was going to try to talk to her now, but a certain biatch wouldn't let me." He said, looking pointedly at me. And then I remembered why I never liked him.

"Look, do you wanna hear it or not?"

He motioned for me to go on.

"Ok, so this is what you have to do…" I began.

* * *

"She's coming." I said, looking at a hopeful Aaron. It was interesting how you could develop a soft spot for someone you really dislike just by knowing that their your best friend's soulmate…I had just gotten off the phone with Aylen, and told her to meet me outside her favorite restaurant at seven. That gave us three hours to get ready and ready we would be.

"You know, I know we've never really gotten along before this, but I do appreciate what you're doing."

"Yeah, well…you know, it's kinda…my job as her best friend. I try…but I swear, you hurt her and your male parts…won't exist. I don't care if you're a fucking werewolf who has miraculous healing powers. You do not hurt her!! Get it?"

Aaron just nodded, and I think he was positively terrified of me. I just grinned.

"Ok, well, we have had enough chit chat. We have to get this done." I said, in what I hoped was a matter of fact tone. And to my surprise, Aaron didn't get upset or anything, he actually just nodded and we decided to set up the most unforgettable night of my best friend's life yet.

* * *

It neared seven, and I knew Aylen would be arriving any minute now. The lights were in place, the music was ready, and I sure as hope to God that the second biggest idiot in the world had his game face on…the first being his ass of a twin brother of course. I just took a deep breath and hoped that this would be the most magical night Aylen ever experienced.

I saw her drive up, and gave Aaron the thumbs up sign. She walked in, and I knew she was confused the minute she saw no other cars in the parking lot. The lights being off in the restaurant would throw her off even more. As she walked in, the spotlight cued on her just as planned, and Aaron started his speech…that I had modified of course to sound grammatically correct and such, because I was pedantic like that. Sad but true. But as soon as Aylen saw his face, she almost bolted out the door, and I had anticipated that so I totally stood there, waiting for her dress in hand, wiggling my finger at her.

"Ah-ah-ah! No, you don't, dearest. Just listen to what he has to say, Aylen. Trust me, I wouldn't condone this, if it weren't like life alteringly important. Like you know I wouldn't." I said, handing her the dress, as she took it from me, a hint of hope and a whole lot of confusion in her eyes. I took her to the back, and once she was ready, I couldn't keep the smile of my face.

"All right, Aylen, now you promise me that you will at least hear what he has to say?"

She barely nodded. I knew how hard this was for her, and boy would I have given anything to be in her place. But I wasn't as lucky as her. I couldn't imprint, and I knew the one I had loved for so long would never imprint on me, because his kind…well, that was a tale for another time. This was about Aylen and I wouldn't let my past get in the way of me being happy for her. I wouldn't be selfish, because best friends aren't selfish. I led her to the main hall, and smiled as the spotlight was back on her.

I heard Aaron take a deep breath, and using my power, I wished him good luck. He smiled, and for a moment, I almost approved of him.

"Aylen Ateara, you've been the center of my world since we were five. I know I've never felt this way about another girl. I know what I did was wrong. I made a promise to you and I broke it. And now it's time I tell you as to why Nafia and I are doing this," and then he took a deep breath and said, "I imprinted."

If it weren't for my superhuman powers, I wouldn't have been able to hear the sound of Aylen's tears falling.

"Would you like to see who she is, Aylen?" Aaron continued, and she managed to choke a nod.

He took her hand, and I heard her heartbeat increase. There was a frame under a sheet and that frame was actually a

"MIRROR?!!!" Aylen screamed. "What the hell are you playing at, Aaron? Wasn't it fucking enough that you fucking broke my heart? And now you have to mock me on top of all this?? What the hell?" She started throwing punches, and I would have saved him, but let's face, the guy was a werewolf, and my best friend is kinda dainty. No offense. I continued as he grabbed her wrists after he knew she got tired, and looked right into her eyes, whispering,

"It's not a joke, Aylen. I love you, more than love, more than life, more than ever. It's true. I imprinted on you, earlier, in the forest. I didn't say anything then, because that dipshit of a best friend of yours said not to. I was going to just tell you straight forward, and take things from there. But Nafia insisted on this."

Aylen finally looked into his eyes, searching for a clue, hoping that this wasn't a joke. She threw her arms around him in disbelief.

"Please, Aaron. Tell me you're not just messing with me heart, or that Nafia didn't put you up to this. Please tell me you mean it, I really don't think I could take another shock like this."

"I mean it, Aylen, from the bottom of my heart. We really are meant to be together, and I am ashamed of the fact that I ever doubted that, but please believe me. I am all yours, until the end of time."

"Okay, okay. Enough sappyness for a lifetime." I said. "Music!"

And in came the orchestra, and then I ushered the waiters in with their three-course meal. And this was my cue to take off. I smiled to myself. Mission accomplished.

* * *

I decided to head home, and for some reason, I was really eager too. I figured it was just spending time with Luke. I felt so bad for not being at the party for too long, but Aylen needed me and then this was so epic. I was happy for them. I figured I could eventually approve of Aaron. After all, he had been extremely cooperative during the whole set-up. He finally admitted I knew Aylen better simply because I was cooler…and a girl, but that's beside the point. I smiled as I walked into my driveway. The good thing about La Push was, everything was right there next to each other, and okay so, maybe I had kinda cheated and ran part of the way, but a little superhuman speed never kill anyone, right? As I opened the door, possibly one of the nicest scents I had ever smelt hit me. A mix of grass, rain, and something I couldn't quite my finger on. It was exotic. Someone else was in the house; this scent didn't belong to any of my family members. Who was it? I looked around, only to find Karson Aaron Winters staring at me, like…like…like _that_. He wasn't supposed to stare at me like that! This wasn't…this couldn't be…

"No. NO! NOOOOO!!! Stop staring at me like that!!! NO! We're not meant to be together! We hate each other. STOP IT!! QUIT LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!!! I can't be YOUR soulmate! DADDY!!!!!!!" I screamed…and then everything went black.

* * *

A/N: So, this was it. The epic imprintings I have been hinting all along. I know most of you saw that coming. And there's lots more, so stay tuned!! And I want to know if you guys liked it or didn't, of course!! And will Karson manage to win Nafia's heart? Well, only time will tell, won't it? REVIEWS = 3!!! Thank you for reading!! : ]


	9. Chapter 8: My Saving Grace

My Saving Grace

A/N: Right so, I know, I suck at updating and pretty much fail at life, but I promise, now that the summer is here, I will try to update more frequently. Huge huge thank yous to Bubble. Gum. Green, Little Emily, brankell, dbgothicprincess, MintCcIceCream. A special mention to WriterFreak132 who read Leah's Story and now added this to her alerts as well. Thank you! So now this is Karson's point of view. And because I don't want you guys to be super confused, it overlaps a little from the last chapter. Like the actual imprinting itself, in Karson's POV, and then we can go from there. I hope you guys like it! : ]

* * *

I finally phased back. It took lots of will power, and a little prodding on my mother's part, but I finally managed to phase back. Uncle Jake had said he hadn't seen anyone as fast as me since my mother, and jokingly mentioned that I had the potential to be the permanent Beta. Now that would be legit. I had no idea that phasing would bring such a change in my attitude. I was finally proud of my heritage and I realized what an ass I had been. I was about to go upstairs, when I heard the front door open, I turned around to see _her_. Nafia. I mean, I had known the girl all my life, and I had always found her attractive, but today, she was breathtaking. No, even that was an understatement. I felt every single string on my heart attach to her, as if she was the only thing in the world, and nothing else existed. And at this point, it didn't. Nafia Umaang Black had become my world. She apparently realized what was going on too, because she started screaming at me, shaking her head, but I was so mesmerized by her beauty, I didn't even listen to what she was saying. Suddenly, she looked like she was about to faint, and I rushed over to her, catching her just in time. I inhaled her scent, and fog immediately filled my mind. Vanilla mixed with a hint of…mere freshness.

"Karson! Good to see you finally phased back, son!...and what are you doing with my daughter in your arms like that?"

And then Jake began shaking his head, just like Nafia had shaken hers. And he mumbled,

"Manwhore! With my baby?...imprint?" And then he fainted too…I was confused what to do and I was really glad to see Nessie come down.

"Karson! What's going on? Why did Jacob and Nafia faint? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! Well, all I did was imprint on Nafia, and then…well, you can see the results." I said sheepishly. I felt horrible. Nafia was the very definition of a Daddy's Girl, and while Jake did like me as a wolf, I didn't think he exactly approved of the imprinting. Nessie knelt down and whispered something in Jake's ear, which immediately caused him to shoot up and sit straight.

"Really, Nessie? We can…you know?" He suggested…rather suggestively…and that was an excellent showcase of my redundancy.

She blushed and nodded. And then he proceeded to pick up Nafia, and I tried to help him, but one glare was enough to tell me to back off. As much as I wanted to make sure she was okay, I knew that if I disobeyed Jake, visitation rights wouldn't exist. Not that Nafia would probably want to see me anyway, as horrible as I had been to her in the past.

Nessie got some water, and splashed it on Nafia's face. Her eyes shuttered, and she groggily became aware of her surroundings.

"Mom, I had like the WORST dream ever…Karson, idiotic, moronic, imbecilic, rude, tenacious, heartless Karson imprinted on me. I just couldn't fathom something like that. I don't even know why it felt like it was so real."

Jake and Nessie were silent, and I took it as my turn to speak.

"That's because, it wasn't a dream, Nafia. I really did imprint on you. We're meant to be together. I know you don't like me, in any sense of the term. Pleas-"

"That was the understatement of the year. Karson, do you honestly think I could fall in love with a person like _you_?"

"Nafia, I know I've been a manwhore in the past, but I'll give it all up for you, if you would just give me one chance to prove myself."

She laughed in disbelief and shook her head.

"It's not about that, Karson. It never was. You can sleep around with whoever the hell you want, for all I care. It's about you as a person. Have you ever realized how much your actions hurt Aunt Leah and Uncle John? You're always up for having a good time with Dakota and Aaron, and the rest of the boys, but when they give you advice, do you listen? Have you ever seen how much Dee loves you and that you're Tuck's idol? No, because you don't give a damn about your family, Winters. You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself. That's why I could never learn to love you. If this was anyone else, I would even learn to compromise with myself, but you, you're incapable of love. I regret living now because I'm apparently your soulmate." She said, tears filling her eyes, and I felt my own cheeks wet. She immediately shot up the stairs, and I dashed behind her, but Jake held me back.

"I can see that you care for her, obviously because of the imprinting, but that doesn't change how I feel about this whole situation. It's not that I don't approve, because, personally, I think every soul in La Push was waiting for this. I think it's more of the fact that you prove that you do deserve her. Which you do, or else this wouldn't have happened. The Alpha in me is proud of you, because you're like a son to me, but the father in me can't help but be scared. I would never want any of your mistakes in the past to affect the future you have with my daughter. And it will take going through hell and back for her to even consider her being your friend. It's not going to be easy…and I will have my eyes on you every damn second. But I do believe in you, and I do believe that one day, it will all work out for the best."

"Thank you so much, Uncle Jake…or should I say, Dad?" I said, nudging him, laughing, and once again, a look from Jake shut me up.

"Now remember kid, you hurt my daughter even the tiniest bit, I will not care that you're Leah's son…actually, _she_ won't even care that you're her son. She'll help me pulverize you if anything. Just keep that in mind, will you?"

"Yes sir." I nodded. I gulped. This wasn't exactly the giving of his blessing, but it was better than a flat out 'I hate you, kid. Don't touch my daughter'. I guess, it was because Jake understood the grounding an imprinting gave to a wolf better than no one I knew. The only other person who truly understood that would be my mom. I was lost, and now I'm found. Nafia, I realized, become my saving grace. It was time that I, the real Karson who had been hidden under that arrogant boy for the past few years, came home.

"Hi, Mom." I said as I walked in. I saw Aylen and Aaron sitting on the couch, holding hands, and clearly, my mother was pleased with their whole ordeal.

"Hey, Karson. I'm sure you've heard, but I can't help but be so damn happy about Aaron and Aylen's imprint. I'm so happy for the both of you!" She said, turning to them.

"Umm, Mom. Aaron's not the only one who imprinted." I said, not really knowing where to begin. But I guess that was a good place to start, right?

My mom gasped.

"Oh my gosh! I want the whole family here for this. John! Dakota! Get in the living room! Karson imprinted!"

_Thanks, Mom. You're making me even more nervous than I already was._ I wanted to talk to her alone, but clearly that wasn't happening.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, you wanna tell us, kiddo?" My mom, said grinning, hands on her hips. My little brother and sister had woken up; looking at me with the big brown eyes they shared with my father. "Well, who's the lucky girl?"

"Erm…I…um…you know, I imprinted…so I imprinted…on a girl. Because…I'm a guy…and I like girls…but I never thought…I'd."

"Dude, hurry up and get on with it. We wanna know she is!" Dakota said…again, NOT HELPING!

"Nafia." I said, hoping my parents wouldn't have a reaction like hers. My mom's jaw literally dropped open, and my dad said,

"Are you sure? I mean, you know, sometimes you can't always tell, and you might just be confused. I mean, it's Nafia…you didn't' really like her much…are you sure you weren't drunk when all of this happened?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm sure. I think I would know when I impri-" I was cut off my mother almost choking me with a hug.

"Oh, Kar! I'm so happy. This is possibly been the best day of life…well, no, I guess that was probably the day your father and I first had sex…or well…yeah, whatever. Anyway, this is so damn exciting! You know, Jake and I have been trying to get the two of you to like each other, not like THAT but just in general, and who knew we wouldn't even have to try!" My mom finally let go, and I could feel my eyes bulging.

"You outside, now!" Aylen said, glaring at me. Oh boy. Here was another 'Don't hurt her' speech.

"All right, so first things first, you WILL not hurt my best friend. Or else, I will personally make sure you're never able to reproduce again. Second, I'm kinda happy. At least now she won't be able to deny what you two have been denying this whole time. Good luck, my friend." Aylen said, skipping off, back into my house.

I took a deep breath. All of this was so surreal. And then after getting another talk about imprinting and its responsibilities from my parents, I decided to go up to my room. I needed to think. About all of this, about how to prove myself to Nafia, and realize that we were meant for each other. I lay down on my bed, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Nafia and I were meant for each other. No one, in all of La Push, or anyone else I could even fathom. She was the only one who could stand up to me. And then there were our 'hate kisses'. It was obvious to everyone but her, that they were a sign of attraction between us. I closed my eyes, it had been a long day, and now it was time to dream about my sweet, beautiful imprint.

Nafia Umaang Black.

* * *

I was going to school, finally, after such a long time. Mom had forbidden us to go to school lest we randomly phase. But we exhibited extreme self control over our phasing…okay, Aaron more so than me. I saw Nafia standing by her locker, throwing her head back and laughing at something Luke was telling her. She ruffled his hair, and waved as he walked in the other direction. She was looking over something, probably her notes for the quiz we had in government today. Not that she needed to, she was ranked number one in our class, and I had always admired…okay, not admired exactly, more like envied, but let's get over that, shall we? Please and thank you! Haha, Nafia always said that. I ran a hand through my hair, feeling more confident than I had. I had had a lot of time to think, but so had she. And she was a sensible girl, so I knew she would relent eventually. What she said to me the last time I had seen her was probably in shock and anger.

"Hi, Nafia." I said, smiling at her. She sighed and just looked at me.

"Hello, Karson."

"Are you going to government?" I asked her, immediately feeling like an idiot. I knew next would come some sarcastic comment.

"No, Karson. I enjoy skipping class…oh wait, no that would be you!" She said, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I'm going to government."

"Me too." I said, and I couldn't help the grin that formed on my face, just seeing her there…just staring at me, with her eyebrow arched in attitude.

"Do you mind moving, I have to get to class?" she said.

"I'll walk with you!" I said, and she just gave me a weird look.

"Can you please stop being so chipper? It's not really you…and I find it slightly disturbing that you're using such a tone with me."

"Seeing your beautiful face makes me all chippery." I retorted back.

"Can we please just go to class?" She sighed, and I immediately felt the extra spring in my step. She tried walking fast, but hey, she wasn't the only one here with superhuman powers. Not that we used them in a public setting such as school, but you get the idea. We walked into government together, and conveniently, there were only two seats left in the back, side by side. I grinned, and seeing the exasperated look on Nafia's face just made me want to cringe on the inside. But I knew it wouldn't be easy. Mom had given me a huge talk about this, and while I might have not appreciated this in the past, I was so grateful. Nafia wasn't the type to just trust anyone right off the bat, and especially me, since I had been horrible to her our whole lives. Until now. Now it would all change. I would become the man she'd always dreamed of. It also helped that she talked about stuff like that with my mom. As we took our seats, I just looked at her, amazed, by her simple beauty. This would take a while, but in the end, I know it will be worth it all.

* * *

A/N: All right, so I know, you all hate me for not updating like I should be. And I'm extremely sorry, but yay for summer! Hopefully, I will get to write more now, and update sooner =]. I love you guys! Please leave reviews! They do encourage me to update sooner =]


	10. Chapter 9: Damn My Destiny

Damn My Destiny…and damn…everything else

A/N: First of all, a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who is still reading this, I know I've been probably the worst at updating, and I really don't have an excuse other than I've been busy with school and weddings in India and such. I'm sorry, and I really appreciate all of you for being so kind. This is in Nafia's POV. I hope you guys like it! Thank you to WriterFreak132, MintCcIceCream, Evil-Angel-23, Little Emily, toshii519, and GlamGirl1991 for the AWESOME reviews! Love you all SO much! : ]

All of this was just a repercussion of my past. I was never really one to believe in karma exactly, but then, why would my destiny play such a cruel joke? The one who had been perfect had only the biggest flaw, and the one with more flaws than rainy days in La Push was apparently perfect for me. Fuck my life. Man, if only I was human, I would totally post this on …but no, that would be disastrous and then the Volturi would come after me like they did my mother. And that's exactly what we want, yes? I rolled my eyes. I lied down on my bed, waiting for Aylen to come over. Karson tried to be all lovey dovey before government today, and it irritated the hell out of me. He would try his best, and I would resist as much as I could…although, deep in my heart I knew, one day I wouldn't be able to resist the pull of imprinting…and to be honest, the mere thought scared, the fact that one day, I would eventually be in love with someone like Karson…I looked over as my phone vibrated, with a text message from Aylen saying,

_Can't make it today. Sorry, love. Aaron wants to take me shopping…sorry baby! I love you!_

I frowned, but sent a reply, saying it was fine. I knew how much she had been hurt, and how much she loved spending time with him, especially after all that had happened. I decided to go downstairs, food always made everything better. Food was pretty much my BFF. And that scent hit me, the one from earlier…Karson's scent. AWW MAN! He was here! Blah. I heard him and my mom chit chatting in the kitchen. And he was eating my food! Mom had saved casserole for me!

"HEY!" I yelled.

"Well, someone's happy to see me." He said, getting all hopeful. I huffed, saying

"I'm not yelling out of excitement. I want you to quit eating my food! MY mom saved that for ME!"

"And your mom also decided that she can make some more food for you later, and that Karson can eat some casserole now." My mom said putting her arm around me. I rolled my eyes again.

"Why are you here, Karson?" I asked, fully knowing the answer. He was obviously here to try to, in the words of my grandfather, Edward, 'woo' me.

"I'm fishing, Nafia." Karson, smiling a little too sweetly, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You know why I'm here."

"Karson, I don't wanna see you. Can you please leave?" I said, turning around, getting ready to leave.

"Nafia," he said, getting up from the table, grabbing my hand, "just tell me what you want, please. You can't say you completely hate me. I know this will take time, some getting used to, but I'm willing to wait as long as you need. Days, weeks, months, years. I don't care. I'll always be in the wings, waiting for you, whenever you're ready. But just let me know, what else I need to do to make myself worthy of you. I've apologized to you countless times, and I know you well enough to know that you've got a huge heart. You must have forgiven me by now. And if you haven't, Nafi, let me know what else I need to do to be good enough for you?"

My mother just had a smile on her face as she left the kitchen. I looked into his eyes, wanting to use my power, for a split second, because that's just how powerful his gaze was. But I wouldn't give in, no matter what happened. I had hated him my whole life, and I didn't give a fuck that he was my so-called destiny. Was it so wrong to want to be able to choose your one true love? Not that I was ashamed of my heritage, by no means, I wasn't. But…my imprinting with Karson was still something I wasn't the least bit used to. And I had to tell him that. It was only fair. I sighed, saying,

"Look Karson, all of this is really new for me, and I-"

"You're not the only one, Nafia. I still can't get over it either, but did you ever think that maybe this is what's best for us?"

"It's not just that Karson, it's just…I could never see myself with someone like you. And we've talked about this. You say you're going to change, but I don't want you to change."

"What the hell do you want then? You say you have a problem with me because of the way I act, so then I change my obnoxious ways for you, and then you say you don't want me to change? You're such a…a….a…"

"A what, Karson?" I seethed.

"A fucking woman, that's what. Women never fucking know what the hell they want. Make up your damn mind. Geez." Karson said, throwing his hands up in the air, and then letting them drop to his sides, a small frown forming on his face, it was almost…cute…wait, what? I shook my head, snapping out of it.

"Karson, what I'm trying to say is, I don't want you to change because I asked you to, you should change because _you_ want to."

"But Nafia, I'm not changing. You made me realize that I've been pretending all along. The guy that's rude to his mother, that doesn't give any attention to his little siblings, that had slept around with practically every girl in La Push, that's not the real me. Nafia, you're but the instrument. God is the doer."

"Good job on screwing up the quote." I said.

"Hey, I tried, okay?"

And we both burst out laughing, and as I threw my head back, I caught Karson staring at me, and I composed myself again. Which in turn, of course, made the entire situation highly awkward.

"Karson, I think you should go home." I said, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles on my jeans.

"Nafia, you can't stop it forever you know. One day, it'll happen. One day, you won't want to run at the sight of my face. One day, you'll care about me the way I care about you. I don't see why you're trying to fight it."

"I'm not trying to fight it, Karson…ugh, you wouldn't understand." I said, turning around, ready to leave, when he grabbed my hand and pulled me close, so that his eyes bore into mine, his breath mingling with mine, and before I knew it, his hand snaked around my waist, and his scent…his goddamn irresistible scent washed over me, and I closed my eyes, hoping to stop the thundering of my heart.

"If my presence didn't affect you, your heart wouldn't be beating so fast, and you wouldn't try to hide how uncomfortable being this close to me makes you. And because you don't like the fact that my presence affects you like this, you try to fight it, resist it, and what does that lead to? You only make it obvious you're trying to fight it. I'm not saying you have to fall in love with me right away, because I know this will take time, and I already told you, I'll be waiting right here for you, whenever you're ready. But can we at least try to be friends?"

"I can't do this right now. Please go home, Karson. This is getting ridiculous." I usually wasn't irrational like this but I really did think this was as much as I could take. And judging by the looks of it, Karson had had enough too, because he left, shaking his head, and I had a feeling he was going to go for a run…not because I knew him well, but because that's just what wolves did when their imprints pissed them off. It was a tradition my uncle Paul started so that he wouldn't break any more furniture. Speaking of Uncle Paul, my cousin Mansi was supposed to come home today. And seeing her would take my mind off all this. I decided to head over to Uncle Paul's.

As I got there, a somewhat familiar scent hit me, and I thought I might run into Karson here too, I almost didn't want to go in, but seeing my cousin was important, and a split second later, I realized, this scent wasn't Karson's, he smelled so much…for lack of a better word, fresher. Not that I thought he smelled good…because he didn't. I wasn't one of his lovesick bitches from school. I knocked on the door, and Mansi screamed upon seeing me and I hugged her like no other.

"I MISSED YOU. SO. FREAKING. MUCHHHHH!" We both screamed at the same time, and then started laughing. She led me inside, and I saw Karson's older brother, Dakota. That explained the scent, and I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here, until I saw the fuming face of my uncle, and I saw how Dakota was looking at my cousin. Oh joy. Another imprint.

"Dakota imprinted on me." Mansi said, a huge blush spreading across her face. Dakota was tolerable, I guess, but I just was annoyed by imprinting in general today.

I nodded, not really knowing what to say. My aunt Rachel, was clearly delighted, but she of course had been trying to hook up Mansi with someone from the time she was like 17 or so. Mansi was never one to really run behind guys, much to Uncle Paul's relief, but Aunt Rachel was always worried she'd be so engrossed in her ambition to acquire her Ph.D, that she'd never get married. Okay, perhaps that was taking it too far, but Aunt Rachel always did complain to my mom that in the 21 years of her life, Mansi never did bring home a boy.

I gave Mansi a hug, because I wasn't going to say anything when she was so happy. Mansi has always been like an older sister to me, and I would hate to be the one to rain on her parade. But did she really have to imprint on Karson's older brother, who also happened to be Noah's best friend? Wouldn't that get slightly awkward? Clearly not, since Mansi already seemed pretty smitten by Dakota…this was getting a little too mushy for me, and I decided to step out for a bit of fresh air. There was a nice breeze in the air, perhaps a bit chilly for the average human, but it was weather like this that I felt was perfect for a run. So I took off into the forest, hoping to forget about every care in the world.

I ran until I was completely out of breath. The human part in me always did slow me down a little, but maybe it gave me a frailty that I wouldn't have had otherwise, growing up around so testosterone, wolf-testosterone no less. I came to the meadow where my grandparents' love had bloomed, and later my own parents, and someday, this is where I wanted my love to bloom as well, but then again, was love even in my destiny? I plopped down, and started humming a tune I had composed with Grandpa a while ago. It had been a while since I had sung or danced for that matter, but singing was Aylen's thing, so that was a different matter altogether. But dancing was my life, and I realized the only way I could survive was through dance. I knew Prather was planning on directing a musical soon, and I wanted to try out for it, hoping to get a part. I got up and just started doing some random ballet routine I had learned a few years ago. And once again, I felt Karson's scent in the air, was he here too? Oh that's right, I had pissed him off and he went for a run. Great, no matter how much I tried to get away from him, he kept on popping up, everywhere I went. I huffed, and turned around, hoping to yell at him to leave. After all, this was MY meadow. What I hadn't expected was his gaze to be so intense. Or maybe a part of me did, and was rather flattered, dare I say it. There was something different about it, this time around…or maybe, just maybe it was my perspective that was changing? No, that can't be it…it most certainly can't, because as he walked towards me, I felt myself take a step back, and before he could do anything, I ran, well-knowing that he could easily catch up to me. But I was rather thankful when he didn't. I sighed. Damn my destiny…and damn everything else.

Author's Note: So one, I suck at updating. But I'm winter break, and hopefully, I can at least redeem myself a little. You all probably hate me by now and don't even care to read anymore, for which I apologize sincerely. But hopefully, this winter break can give me some off-time and I can give you guys some chapters. To anyone who is still reading this, I love you beyond belief and I'm seriously grateful to you all. Thank you so much for all the support. I really can't have done it without you guys. Now onto to write chapter 10 =].


	11. Chapter 10: Just One Chance

Just One Chance

A/N: So here we go again, let's hope this update reaches you guys about a week after the last one =]. Thank you to Efficient Vixen, Little Emily, GlamGirl1991, brankel1, peacelovextwlight30, MintCcIceCream, Kesha Black and Evil-Angel-23 for reviewing! And this shall follow the pattern and be in Karson's PoV. I hope you all like it! And once again, I own nothing you may or may not recognize. All that is mine is the plot and Nafia, Karson, Aylen, Aaron, Mansi, Dakota, etc. The new characters, who weren't originally in the series are mine, any other characters you may or may not recognize are not mine.

* * *

Everything about Nafia was simply mesmerizing. The way I had seen her body glide in the meadow the other day just made everything in the world stop and all I could focus on was her. Okay to be honest, that happened just about every time I saw her, but I had never watched her dance before, and I had never seen her so happy before. Dancing was an integral part of her life. And her family was too, and Nafia basically considered all of La Push her family, or at least the entire wolf pack. And suddenly, it hit me, I knew next to nothing about Nafia. And I wouldn't get close to her without showing her that I cared to get to know her. But then again, I also knew that Nafia wouldn't want to see my face. So I decided to go to the only person I knew would be of any help.

* * *

I knew Aylen would be at my house since she and Aaron were more or less attached at the hip after she found out he imprinted on her. Honestly, it was almost gross at this point, like cute but in a disgusting way. I braced myself hoping they wouldn't be making out on the couch or something, and walked in. It was safe, considering they were watching a movie, and had apparently made it a double date with Kota and Mansi as well. They were abhorringly cute too. I wondered if Nafia and I would ever get to be that way. I shook my head, here I was planning our relationship, when my imprint couldn't even bare to look at me. That was obvious from how she ran away that day in the meadow. But they say that if you're going to get a girl, you gotta be best friends with her best friend, who luckily for me was in love with my brother and if nothing else, would help me out for his sake. Mansi would help me out because she was just…Mansi, and that's what Mansi did: she helped people in any which way she could. I wasn't expecting the glares from my brothers when I walked in, but they needed to calm down. Like they didn't spend enough time with their imprints anyway.

"So, Aylen and Mansi…hey." I said. Yay for being awkward.

Aylen chuckled,

"Hey Karson. How's it going?"

"Um, it could be better, which-"

"Is why you've come to ask help from Aylen and me" Mansi finished. So they knew.

"Well, I just figured that you two would help me, you know…yeah." I said.

"Karson, can't you do this later? We were watching a movie." Aaron said, exasperation ringing in his voice. At least he was being nice about it, Dakota just continued to glare at me.

"No, Aaron. It's okay, we can finish the movie sometime later. Mansi, how about you, me, and Karson go for a walk?" Aylen suggested, and Mansi nodded in agreement. They made their way to the door, and I made sure to smirk at my brothers before leaving. That's what they get for being insensitive.

"So, what would you like to know about Nafia?" Mansi asked, getting right to the point.

"You actually know a lot more than you think already, Karson." Aylen said. I don't know where she got that from, because the only I knew, was that I knew nothing about her. I still didn't say anything.

"You know she cares about her family." Mansi said, with a somewhat hopeful tone.

"Well, not just her family, she cares about everyone…well, it's more like she considers everyone family." I said.

"See, and for her, everyone else's happiness always comes first." Aylen added. "That's a pretty big part of her life, and most drives most of her decisions. Before doing anything, Nafia always thinks about how it would affect the ones she cares about."

"This is true." I nodded.

"What else do you think you can tell us about her?" Mansi asked.

"Me? Um, this is supposed to be the other way around. _You _guys are supposed to tell _me_ whatever you can about Nafia."

They both smiled, which of course they would. There was like a million things they knew, and I didn't. And their smiles reflected that.

"What does Nafia like to do?" Aylen asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, "And again, this is supposed to be you both telling me things, not playing Twenty Questions with me."

"Just answer the question, Karson." Mansi said.

"Oh, I don't know…dance, sing, play music, read, and…I don't know what else…oh, she loves acting too, she's always in Prather's plays."

"See, Karson, you didn't even need us. You know her better than you think. You two may not have gotten along in the past, but maybe, just maybe, that's why you know so much about her. Give yourself a little credit, Kar. You deserve her in every which way." Mansi said, smiling. And I was about to respond, when my older brother popped out of nowhere.

"If you're done interrogating the love of my life, can I have her back? We have dinner plans. Okay, thanks."

"Karson, if you want to talk more, just give me a call later, and we can finish this discussion, although, I honestly don't think you need my help." Mansi said, giggling, before she walked off with Dakota. "Okay, Aylen, what else can you tell me about Nafia?"

"Karson, I think you've proved that you don't need our help, because you know Nafia pretty well. Just follow your heart." Aylen said, patting my chest where my heart was.

"Nafia thinks I'm heartless." I said, feeling the frown form on my face.

Aylen laughed.

"Uh, I don't really think this is funny. Just because you're all happy with my brother and whatnot."

"Karson, I think she respects you a little more than you may realize. She does the notice the changes in you, you know."

"Lies."

"You know what, how about you ask her yourself next time you get a chance?"

"Fine. I will." I said, sticking my tongue out at her. Yes, Nafia, the girl who couldn't bare to look twice at me, noticed the little changes in me. Hokay.

"You have fun with that, Karson. As for me, I'm sure Aaron wouldn't mind spending the rest of the evening with me."

"You two make me puke." I said, rolling my eyes, to which Aylen just laughed.

"You know, Nafia says the same thing. Go figure."

That made me smile. Well, at least we had _something_ in common. And that was enough for me for now.

* * *

I had gone over to Prather's earlier to borrow some of the musicals Nafia had done under his direction over the years. Dancing was Nafia's passion and singing was in her blood. Edward had taken her under his wing from a very young age, but Nafia never took to singing as she did to dancing. Or maybe she didn't do that because Aylen loved singing, and Nafia didn't want to take that away from her. I popped in the DVD, and sat back on my couch. This had better be good.

Thirty minutes later, I was confused as fuck. Nafia's character, loved the lead of the play who loved some rich girl which was Aylen's character who loved her maid's son who was actually played by Aaron. I was really confused, but I just chose to focus on Nafia. Aaron had always begged Prather to be in plays that Aylen was in, but I had never really taken an interest to those things. Actually, I don't really think Aaron ever had an interest in the play, he just did whatever Aylen did. I tried to follow along, but between all the songs and drama, this wasn't really my cup of tea. And now, the musical was coming to an end, and I still wasn't sure what was happening.

As Aaron walked downstairs, about to walk Aylen home, I paused the DVD and asked them,

"So what exactly does happen? I've just been confused for the past hour and half."

"This is above your intellectual lever, Karson. Go run or something. It takes a certain style of thinking to process such beauty." Aaron babbled.

"Oh shut up, Aaron. You only did that play because there was a kissing scene between our characters and you didn't want anyone else to kiss me. And as for you Karson, I think it's awfully sweet that you're going through all this just for Nafia. Come on, Aaron, drop me home. Let's leave Karson with his muse."

"You both need to stop making fun of me."

After they both left, I started the play again, but I don't even know when I dozed off. I wouldn't have realized it, until a hand gently woke me up. I was more than surprised to see Nafia.

"It was so boring, to where you fell asleep?" Nafia asked giggling, a smile playing on her lips.

"No, no. I just…got confused…I…but how did you come here? And moreover, why did you come here? Did you need something? You could have just called me, I would have come over."

"I did need something, Karson."

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"I needed to know, why you went through all this? I know you hate my musicals, you'd refuse to even buy a ticket to come watch them, just to support your brother? What made you do all this?"

"Oh please. Like Aylen didn't tell you already."

"She did," Nafia chuckled, "But I wanna hear it from you."

"Well, I just thought I'd you know, try to get to know you better through this. I wanted to try to understand why you loved music and singing and dancing so much."

"And, did you understand why I love theatre and dancing and music so much?"

"No, not really."

"But the fact that you tried, is what matters to me, Karson."

"Really?" I said, trying my best not to get my hopes up.

"Well, it _does_ show that you care to get to know me, and what I like and stuff. And just for that, I think I can make the same efforts."

"Like what do you mean?"

Nafia took a deep breath before continuing.

"I mean, maybe you and I could spend some time together…sometime? Does that even make any sense?"

"Are you asking me out?" I asked, and the eagerness in my voice sounded too desperate, even for me.

"Can we not call it that please?" Nafia asked, raising an eyebrow. Great, there went all my hopes.

"All I want is one chance. Just one chance."

"And I'm willing to give you that chance, Karson. Prove to me that you care, and that I'm not just another girl. I understand I'm your imprint, but at the same time, given our…erm, history, if you will, it's a little alarming, don't you think?"

"You had me after 'I'm willing to give you a chance'. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and willing to wait however long it takes, Nafia. Just for you."

"Thanks, Karson. You know, that really means a lot to me. And if you're willing to make efforts, then maybe I can too."

* * *

A/N: And that's all for this chapter. But don't worry, there's a lot more to come! I hope to update soon! You guys rock and I would love if you could leave a review! This has reached 72 reviews! I hope to reach a 100 by the next update!


	12. Chapter 11: Getting to Know Each Other

Getting to Know Each Other

* * *

A/N: Wooohooo! I'm on a roll! I literally just finished chapter 10, and now for chapter 11. You guys should be proud of me. Thank you Evil-Angel-23, Kesha Black, Little Emily, MintCcIceCream, peacelovextwilight30 and brankel1 for reviewing! But here's chapter 11, and I hope you all like it! Oh, and it's in Nafia's POV.

I couldn't believe what I had done. It wasn't something I was expecting. Aylen had called me and told me how Karson had made the efforts to watch one of my musicals and try to appreciate it. He fell asleep but that was beside the point. The point was he tried, and if he tried, I would too. There was no point in crying over spilt milk, because what happened in the past wouldn't affect my future. My past with Karson, and my past with…just saying his name in my head brought tears to my eyes. But it was getting easier. Or so I told myself, so that I would at least be able to put on a good, happy façade for my family. Even Aylen told me, it was time I accepted what was going on, whether I like it or not, because that's what was in my destiny, that was where I was supposed to end up along. And I would force myself to love Karson, because that would be the only way I would be happy.

* * *

I went to school the next day, and Karson and I were supposed to get burgers after. Seemed simple enough, right? What I didn't expect was flowers inside my locker, and a box of candy.

"Aylen told me the combination, I hope you don't mind. I just thought I'd get something to show my appreciation that you agreed to a date."

"It's not a date, Karson. I thought we agreed on that as well." I said, matter-of-factly. Homeboy needed to get his words right.

"Fine, our get together, if you will. I'm still super excited, and I know you're probably not but I'm still happy you agreed to it." Karson said, giving me a dazzling smile. He may have been an ass in the past but there was no denying how good looking he was. And phasing only enhanced his strong biceps, his chiseled chest. I shuddered involuntarily. Why? I wasn't quite sure. I blamed it on his hormones, that probably had some random effect on me because of the imprinting. Because that's just how imprinting worked, it was weird. Weird as hell. But cute too, I guess. I smiled.

"Are you thinking of me naked?" Karson asked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." I said, as we started walking to government, "But thank you for the flowers and candy."

The day was over, and I saw Karson waiting by his car. I walked up to him and shut the door he had been holding ajar for me.

"I'm gonna drive home in my car, and if you want, you can follow me, and that way I can drop my car home, and then we can go in your car. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay! I'm down for anything." Karson said, a little too enthusiastically. It was almost…endearing.

I dropped my car off, and informed my parents I would be late, with my father nodding proudly and my mother smiling. I got in Karson's car, and I couldn't help smile because his own smile was so contagious.

"So, how was your day?" Karson asked.

"I spent more than half of it with you. You should know how it was." I said, in disbelief.

"Well, assume I was asking about the part you didn't spend with me. How'd it go?"

"It was fine, I guess." I shrugged.

"My day was good, too. But it's going to get even better because-"

"You're going on a date with me." I finished for him. He had been rambling all day about our so-called totally non-date 'date'.

"I thought we weren't calling it that, but that's what you wanna call it, I have no problem." He smirked.

Oh my gosh! The idiot did that on purpose! So _I _would call it a date. The little bastard.

"Hey, hey. No need to be mean now. Name calling isn't necessary, especially since I am completely legitimate and not a bastard."

I hated how my power was somewhat involuntary when it came to Karson. My dad attributed it to how I always didn't tell my parents everything, like if I needed something, and because of the imprinting, Karson would be there whenever I needed him, even if I couldn't express that need to him. Yes, because I would totally need Karson for something. I was pretty damn capable of protecting myself, I wasn't a mere human…no offense to humans, but I wouldn't need Karson to ever fight off a vampire or something for me, considering I almost looked like one myself. But whatever, I couldn't change it so I just had to live with it. That's how I decided to look at this whole imprinting thing too. Aylen and I had a talk about I should just accept it and move on.

_I lay down on Nafia's bed. We had just gotten dinner and a movie, and now it was girl talk time. Stupid Aaron had taken over her time, and the asshole gave me a smirk whenever Aylen wouldn't get to hang out with me because she had already made plans with him. But I was fine with it, because they were almost kinda cute. Okay, fine, they were really cute, to the point that it was disgusting._

"_So, how are things with you and Karson going?"_

"_What, Aylen? Karson and I have nothing going on."_

"_Oh, so this whole imprinting thing is just a creation of my imagination?"_

_I rolled my eyes. She didn't have to put it like that, but there was nothing going on between Karson and myself._

"_Nothing's going on and nothing will happen."_

"_So you're just going to ignore the imprinting your life?"_

_I sat up to face her as she sat down on her bed._

"_Well, no, but when, I mean if, if I start developing feelings for Karson, then I will act on them. Until then, things will go on as they have been, I guess. It's not like we have a time limit or anything."_

"_Nafia, you said when, don't think I missed it. And nothing will continue to stay nothing until you make an effort too."_

"_Yes, because clearly, Karson is making soooo many efforts." I said, sighing._

"_He is! You know, he borrowed some of your musicals from Prather, and the fact that he convinced Prather to part with his babies for a little bit says a lot. And what have you been doing, Nafia?"_

"_I am nice to him, isn't that enough?"_

_Aylen put her hand on her forehead in annoyance and I couldn't help but laugh at what a drama queen she was._

"_Nafia, clearly you want him and you to be together too, since you said 'when' earlier, but it takes two to tango. You're gonna have to make efforts too."_

"_But I-"_

"_Nafia, did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, this is the way to heal your broken heart? I mean, you and Karson were the only ones who were blind to the obvious chemistry between the two of you. Everyone else saw it from the very beginning."_

"_But it's not that easy, Ay-ay. You've been in love with Aaron since you can ever remember, and you're so lucky that the guy you loved was the one in your destiny anyway. Not everyone gets that."_

"_I know it's hard, Nafia, and I also know that I will never fully understand what you're going through, but at the same time, I do want you to be happy. This is your way to be happy."_

"_By spending the rest of my life with the one person that's treated me like crap? The one person that has never respected me? The one person that has been hell-bent on making my life a living hell? Yes, Aylen, I am going to be delighted."_

"_He's also the person who cares more about you than anyone else in his life. He's also the person who respects you because you helped him realize all the faults he had in him. He's the person who wants to take away all your pain and give you nothing but happiness."_

"_Oh please, he knows nothing about my pain and my past."_

"_You'd be surprised, Nafia."_

"_I sure as hell know you didn't tell him, Aylen. And I also know that no one other than you knows."_

"_He doesn't know why you're hurt, Nafia, but he sees the pain in your eyes. Pain that your parents don't see, pain that your brothers don't see, pain that no one else sees, he sees it, Nafia. He sees it, plain and simple. And I know you're wondering why he hasn't asked about it yet, but you and I both know that you wouldn't tell him even if he did ask. There's only so much a guy can take, Nafia. Only so much."_

"_You have a point, but I just…I'm scared. What if I start liking him back?"_

"_Why is that such a bad thing, Nafia? Why is it such a bad thing?"_

And here we were. Literally and figuratively. We had arrived at the best burger place in Forks, and Karson hopped out to open the door for me. I had been quiet for the rest of the ride, but Karson hadn't pushed me, and I respected that. It was actually really sweet of him. We went into the place, and surprisingly, all we had to do was pick up our order. We sat at a table because they still had a couple things left.

"I already ordered for you, but I asked Luke what your favorite was here, so we would go somewhere else, a little more private and peaceful. Just the two of us, it'd be better I think…but only if you're okay with that. If not, it's fine, I can-"

"I'd love that, Karson. And I think it's really thoughtful of you to put so much so thought into this." Good going, Nafia. Redundancy. So classy.

"It's okay to be nervous, Nafia. I'm pretty nervous myself, in case you haven't noticed. I think our order is ready. I'll be right back, and then we can leave, okay?"

I nodded, but I felt so bad. I _hadn't _noticed. I hadn't cared about anyone but myself. And Karson, he had always cared for me. Okay, not always, but ever since the imprinting, he did make efforts. And lots of them. He smiled at me, our food in hand, I reached for a bag, but he wouldn't let me.

"I'm going to be a gentleman and carry the bags myself." I laughed, but suddenly became self-conscious because Karson was staring at me.

"I know I have a funny laugh." I said, chuckling.

"No, actually, I think it's perfect."

I shook my head.

"You're crazy. Let's go?"

"Yeah, let's go." He said softly.

As we got into the car, I couldn't help but wonder where we were going, and Karson probably read my mind, because he answered,

"I did read your mind, but not of my own accord, and it's a secret. You'll see."

I folded my arms, hoping he'd feel bad and tell me.

"Uh, yeah, that's not gonna work on me, Naf. I won't succumb."

Damn. He just grinned.

But as we neared the forest, I got happier, I was sure it was some spot in the forest, and it was honestly, really romantic for him to have brought me here. He parked his car, and I took the opportunity to hold the bag of food this time, I wasn't going to make him do all the work. He took out a little picnic basket from the back of his truck that I hadn't even known was there, and told me to follow him. Out of instinct, I grabbed his hand. Okay, not really out of instinct, but I just wanted to see if there was a spark, or if my heart would hammer in my chest…or nothing. Which is exactly what happened. Absolutely nothing. No spark, no heart pounding, no effect of any sort.

"Making a move on me, I see." Karson said.

"Oh yes, you know how much I want you." I joked along.

"I'd say the same, but it wouldn't be a joke, Nafia." And at that point, I let go of his hand.

We kept on walking in silence, until I saw a clearing. It was really similar to the meadow I was went whenever I was sad or lonely and wanted to feel good.

"This is your happy meadow." Karson said, breaking the silence.

"Happy meadow?" I asked, puzzled.

"Mmmhmmm. Whenever you're happy, you can come here. This one won't be associated with sorrow and sadness. You don't have to be sad to come here. You can come here whenever you're extremely happy too."

Wow. Who would have thought Karson would ever be so deep? Or could be for that matter. He pulled the tablecloth out of his little picnic basket, took the food out of my hands, and started setting things up.

"Karson, can I say something?" He looked up, smiling.

"Sure, Nafia. What's up? Is something not okay?"

"No, I was actually going to say, it's really nice to see you putting so much thought into this. I honestly didn't expect it. It's surprising to see you like this, but in a good way."

"You have no idea how much that means to me, Naf. Thank you so much, for appreciating me."

"I can be nice when I want to." I said, laughing.

"No! That's so not what I meant. You're always nice to everyone. Like you're always there for your brothers, no matter how much you and Noah fight, Aunt Nessie always talks about how she never has to worry because you always take care of everything, and all of La Push knows you're Jacob's pride."

"I'm hungry, let's eat?" I asked. It was weird hearing such nice things about me, especially from Karson. He nodded and handed me a plate and some plasticware. I filled it up with food and handed it to him. He pushed the plate towards me and I pushed it back towards him.

"No, I want you to eat first, Karson. Besides, I am going to ask you for something super precious and I need you to say yes, and the way to a man's heart is his stomach, so eat up."

"Oh, I see. So you're just trying to butter me up and make me happy and then get me to do whatever you'd like? Hmm?" He asked, struggling not to laugh.

"Yes. Precisely. Which is why you need to eat up. Eat up." I said.

"Nafia, you could basically ask me for anything and I'd give it to you."

"Well, eat first." I demanded.

"Nope, you ask first."

"Karson." I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Nafia." He said, tilting his head.

"You're so stubborn!" I screamed. We had been getting along just fine, but no, Karson just had to ruin it, like he does everything. I crossed my arms and huffed. And he just rolled his eyes! Now I remembered why I hated him so much.

"Yes, because you're the most compliant person ever, Naf."

"I AM!" I exclaimed.

"Nafia, you and I both know that you're pretty damn stubborn when it comes down to it, don't deny it. Now, how about I start eating, and then you ask me? Deal?"

"Okay fine. But I need you to take a bite of your burger first. Like I need to see it." He began eating so I decided to ask him.

"So, you wanna hear what I want from you?"

"Please proceeed."

"Okay, here goes, but promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise."

"Will you be my best friend?" I blurted. Crap, I had meant for it to be more…refined? Was that the word? But it just sort of came out. And I guess I made Karson mad because at this point he stopped eating.

"W-w-w-what?"

"Will you be my best friend?" I asked, looking down, in a much lower tone than I generally used. Great, he didn't want to be my best friend, and I had just made a fool of myself. Gosh, why did I even _want_ to be best friends with _him_? I sounded so desperate and needy, which was far from the truth. There was an awkward silence so I proceeded to get up, and as I turned around, he grabbed my hand to hold me back. I looked at him as he asked,

"I thought that was Aylen?"

"Well, yes, but my best friend in a different way is what I meant."

"I don't get it."

"Ughhhhhh. Karson! You're…an idiot! You know, every girl needs a guy best friend, I was asking you to be my guy best friend! Damn it."

"Oh. But why?"

"What do you mean why?" I was exasperated at this point.

"Well, why does every girl need a guy best friend? And why would you choose me of all people?"

"Because I can't fall in love with you unless you become my best friend first! That's just how it works!"

"Oh, and you know this because?"

"Because that's what…" happened_ between Dunkan and me_. I couldn't finish the sentence. I couldn't tell Karson everything just yet. "That's what happens in movies."

"Oh."

"And because I'm sure you're wondering, every girl needs a guy best friend who can listen to her go on and on, but at the same time, tell her to shut up when she needs to. He can do anything for her but at the same time, keeps her on her toes. He'd kill for her, but at the same time, die for her. Is that enough or do I need to go on?"

"Well, isn't an imprint supposed to do all of that anyway?"

I grinned. And then I couldn't stop laughing, while Karson just looked confused.

"Well, then, I guess you're already my best friend, aren't you?"

"Okay, I guess so too."

"I know you're really confused, right now, Karson. I'm sorry. How about we just eat?"

"Yeah, let's just eat."

* * *

The rest of our non-date had gone well, and I honestly hadn't realized where the time went. We had asked each other almost everything basic. We knew each other's favorite foods, colors, games, movies, television shows, you name it. And despite knowing him my whole life, I had gotten to know Karson better in the last few hours than ever before. As I got out, Karson did too, and walked me to my door.

"Well, I suppose this goodnight, right?" He asked. I couldn't help but chuckle and nod my head in agreement. However, I wasn't ready for what came next, as Karson pressed his lips against mine, and I just stood there frozen.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?" He asked, and he already looked so sad, I didn't have the heart to tell him no. "It's okay, take your time. We can't just go from best friends to falling in love in a snap, right? I was stupid to think… But anyway, thanks so much for a great evening, and good night, Nafia. Sweet dreams."

"You're a sweetheart, Karson, you know that? And I know I haven't been the…nicest to you in the past, but you've put up with a lot since the imprinting, and I'm sorry for that. But I can promise you this much, that I may not love you now, but I don't hate you either. In fact, we're best friends, aren't we?"

I kissed him on the cheek, and opened the door to go inside, only to see my father apparently eavesdropping. I turned around to wave Karson as he drove out of my driveway, and then turned back around to face my father.

"Daddy, were you listening in on our conversation?"

"Well, I just, you know…maybe. But I just wanted to make sure you two didn't…well, you know…yeah…oh, I think your mother is calling. I'm coming, love! Okay, good night, baby doll." My father said, kissing me on the forehead. I went up to my room only find my brothers there.

"No, Noah, Karson didn't try anything." I answered his unasked question.

"Whatever, it's not like I care." I raised an eyebrow, and used my power to tell him. _Yes, that's why you stayed up this late, not doing anything, and just happened to be in my room?_ Noah just rolled his eyes, much like I knew he would, and left.

"He's good to you?" Luke asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, he's a lot nicer than ever before. And he really does seem to care about me."

"Do you like him?"

"Luke, I'm just beginning to understand him on a personal level, it'll take a while for me to like him as more than just a friend."

"But you're friends?"

"Oh, Lukey, " I said, sitting down on my bed, "We're best friends."

"I'm happy for you, Nafi." He said, smiling.

"Night, Luke."

"Night, Sis."

* * *

A/N: And that's a wrap! On this chapter, not the story lol. I didn't anticipate it to be this long, but once I started typing, I couldn't stop, I think I originally intended to make this into two chapters, but sometimes creativity is in spontaneity. But anyway, I won't make you guys read anymore, seeing as this chapter was so long anyway. You know the drill, leave reviews! Please and thank you! LOVE YOU GUYS!


	13. Ch 12: The Biggest Decision of His Life

The Biggest Decision of His Life

A/N: Thank you to MintCcIceCream, toshii519, peacelovextwlight30, brankel1, Little Emily, Kesha Black and Evil-Angel-23 for reviewing! I sincerely appreciate the support! And now for chapter 12, which will be Karson's POV. Things take an interesting turn, and honestly speaking, it is probably the second most important chapter in the story. I hope you all like it! =) (oh and the italics is a flashback) and again, I really do apologize for the delay. It has been way too long, my lovelies. But college hates me, and keeps me away from writing. I'm undoubtedly genuinely grateful to all of you who are still reading. Makes my heart swell real big. Thank you so much. I would be nothing without you folks. =']

* * *

I woke up, and I couldn't help but beam. This was a regular occurrence nowadays. For the last couple of months, Nafia and I had become best friends, because she claimed that she wouldn't be able to fall in love with me until we became friends, best friends. And I'm pretty sure I could write a book on her life now, that's how well I knew her. And she knew me too, and it was nice, to get along, to not fight. Our parents were happy too, Jacob stopped listening on our conversations because I hadn't tried to kiss her again after our first non-date, which really was a date. I mean, she was bound to have fallen in love with me by now, right? We were always together, and rumors around had been pretty strong about us, saying that we were finally hooking up, and while I didn't like that people were saying such things about Nafi, I didn't do anything to stop them because eventually that is what would happen and I guess Nafia didn't stop them for the same reason. Christmas was almost here and I was delighted. Christmas was always a blast as we always had it at Jake's, Uncle Embry's, Quil's or my house, and the entire pack got together and we'd all exchange gifts. Well, the entire original pack of Mom, Jake, Embry, Seth and Quil. Everyone else wasn't nearly as close but we were all still family more or less. I was going to ask Nafia to be my girlfriend. I had never asked anyone that before. It was usually a quick hit in the sack and then over, unless the girl was really good, in which case she'd turn into a regular hook-up. I couldn't believe how much I had changed. It was like an entire 180. I quickly got ready and went downstairs, grabbed a couple of sandwiches and that would suffice for breakfast.

"Heading over to Nafia's?" My mom asked. I went over to give her a good morning kiss and just smiled.

"Yeah, she wanted to take me somewhere special she said, somewhere her and I haven't been before, not together at least." My mom turned around to look me in the eye, and said,

"You really love her, don't you?"

"Yeah…I mean, me of all people, Mom? Who'da thought? And I'm in love with Nafia, no less. In fact, I hadn't anticipated this earlier, but now, after talking to you, I think…I think I'm gonna tell her how I feel about her. I mean, I feel like she finally reciprocates my feelings, you know?"

"I'm really happy for you, honey. It's nice to see that you finally found someone. It's been really nice to not have to listen to those whores of yours all night."

"Mommmmm, all of that is over. I've changed. I'm a one-woman man now."

"Well, one-woman men get hungry too, so how about you grab a plate, grab some pancakes, and eat."

"Mom, I'm in a hurry. Christmas break just started and I want to spend as much time as I can with Nafia when I'm not running around on drills because of Jake. I swear, I think he's convinced there's going to be another Volturi attack or something. It hasn't happened for years, it won't happen again. I don't think La Push will be seeing any leeches for a while. But no, any potential danger for Nessie, blah, blah, blah."

"Karson, you and I both know any imprint would do the same. Jake is doing nothing wrong. He needs to keep you boys on his toes. And go sit down and eat, Nafia would want that too."

"Yeah, she hates it when I don't eat as much, especially if it's to come see her. She really does care a lot about me."

* * *

I walked into the Black household that evening where Noah was on the phone. He had imprinted on a girl he had met in New York last week when he went Christmas shopping with the leechy side of their family. Well, I guess I shouldn't say bad things about them. Knowing Nafia, she would want them to approve of me too, and since her grandfather was a mind-reader, even thinking bad things wouldn't really be good for me.

"Nafia, your bitch is here!" Noah screamed, putting a hand over the phone.

"Noah, why do you always have to be so rude?" Nafia screamed back from upstairs. "Karson, I'm on my way, just give me a minute or two."

"That means like an hour." Noah told me.

"I heard that, Noah! I'm superhuman too, you idiot." Nafia yelled from downstairs.

"Hello, dear." Aunt Nessie said, giving me a hug. Nafia came downstairs and she looked absolutely adorable in her jeans and simple blue button down. She grabbed a jacket, even though her temperature was just about the same as mine. I had asked her about this earlier, once winter really started, and she said it was something about keeping appearances. An idea she inherited from the leeches, I mean, vamps in her family.

"Hey Mom, I already ate dinner so don't worry about me, and don't stay up for me, and please tell Dad too.", and then she turned around and asked me, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's head out."

* * *

I wasn't quite sure where we were going. Normally, if we went somewhere, we'd take my car but this time, Nafia insisted she wanted to drive.

"Would you like to go somewhere to eat something first? I have to tell you something really important to tell you." Nafia said.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"No, I was just wondering if you were. I didn't want you to be hungry or anything, because I know you get hungry pretty easily, and what I have to say to you isn't exactly sweet and short. That's all."

I turned in my seat, to look at her, and said,

"You care about me a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah.", she whispered softly, a content smile on her face. At that very moment, I swear, my heart skipped a beat, and my chest swelled with pride. Nafia cared about me. It had taken me longer than I would have ever liked, but in the end, it was more than worth it, because my imprint, Nafia Black, cared about me. What the hell? I was acting like a freaking fourteen year old girl. I'm just glad I didn't squeal from delight or whatever it is that young girls do. I cleared my throat, and pulled myself back together.

"No, Nafia, I'm sure whatever you have to say is more important than me eating. Plus, this way, you'd get hungry too, and we could eat together."

Nafia had a grim look on her face, and I felt something twist inside my stomach. The last time Nafia had that look on her face was when she still hated me…oh my God. I really hope she wasn't going to say something along the lines of her not wanting to hang out with me. After all that we had been through in the past two months?

_It was my first hang out with Nafia since our non-date. She had made it pretty clear she only wanted to be friends, but at the same time, she also made it clear that she would like to get to know me better, and wanted me to get to know her better. Her parents were on a third honeymoon as part of a random gift from Edward, and Noah was in charge of the garage with Luke helping him, so Nafia said we could have the entire house to ourselves if we had just chilled at her place. I didn't mind in the least, but it didn't mean I wasn't nervous. Nafia and I seemed to be doing okay for the most part, but I didn't want to get ahead of myself because if I screwed up now, I knew I'd never get her, and that would such a waste of forever. I let myself in, looking around, taking in Jacob's house. I had been countless times before, but today was different. Today I didn't come for a barbeque or a potluck or Thanksgiving or any other wolf gathering. Today, I came for my imprint, my Nafia._

_This used to be Billy Black's old house. Mom had always kept Billy Black in her prayers. The Blacks had been like a second family to her from a very early age. Come to think of it, Jacob's house had become like that for me, even before the imprint. My mother was always here, helping around the house, even helping Jake and Nessie get together. I had spent almost as much time here as a child as I had in my own house. I could reminisce later though. Today was about Nafia. I felt the pull, stronger than ever, and her scent consumed me. She was in the kitchen, smiling as she cooked, and I couldn't help but think how much she resembled both of her parents. Her smile was mesmerizing, much like her mother's. Her skin tone was almost like a light copper, with an inherent glow. I couldn't help but lose all sense of time or consciousness for that matter, had she not said anything._

"_You know, I invited you over, so that we could talk and further get to know each other. However, if you want to just stand there, and watch me chop stuff, that's cool too. Whatever floats your boat, Karson."_

"_Maybe I just think it's cute to stare at you." I retorted. She was the one who started the flirting…well, flirting in my opinion at least. Hey, a guy can dream right?_

_She just giggled, and turned around to face me._

"_Do you mind helping me out a bit?" She asked, a twinkle in her eye._

"_Yeah, sure. I don't know how much help I'd be, though. Not really a culinary expert...although, you would be, since you're related to the Cullens. Hahaha, get it?"_

_Great, Karson. Lamest joke of all time, but because Nafia was nice, she chuckled at my excuse for a joke._

"_I just need you to get some things out of the pantry and maybe the deep freezer out of the garage. Consider this bonding time for us."_

_She instructed me to go get the chicken out of the freezer and then rub my hands over it to defrost it in like ten minutes. One of the many advantages of being a wolf, I'd say. She set it to cook on the stove, and got a bag of mixed pasta out of the pantry._

"_Oh my Jesus! Are you making chicken pasta with spicy Alfredo sauce?" I almost screamed. Note to self, kindly refrain from acting like a twelve year school girl with the quarterback of the high school football team, thanks._

"_Well, it's not like it's your favorite or anything." Nafia said unenthusiastically, continuing to boil the pasta, and then proceeding to drain it._

"_How'd you know?" I asked, not helping the grin on my face._

"_You told me, idiot." She said, furrowing her eyebrows together, her hands up in disbelief._

"_Oh yeah. I knew that." I said, looking at the ground sheepishly. She walked up and tipped my chin up._

"_You know, I like it like this. I mean, us not fighting. It's…nice, or nicer than I ever thought it could be."_

"_Yeah, me too. It's like our whole lives, we could have been friends, but we weren't, and now look at us."_

_She turned back around and fell silent, and immediately, I figured I had done something to upset her. I still was paranoid about completely being myself, because I didn't want to her to take back her friendship. If I wouldn't even have that, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to survive. I opened my mouth and just closed it again, not knowing what to say to fill the awkward silence._

"_I always wanted to know why…" Nafia didn't finish her question; because she knew hearing it would hurt me._

"_I just…I don't know, Nafia. I really don't know what to tell you. I was jealous, more than anything, because you were everything I wanted to be and more. You're so talented in every way, shape, and form. You sing, you dance, you're smart, you're friendly, and everyone loved you. My mom would always chide me, asking why I couldn't be like you, and you know how I am, and I just wanted to take it out on you. I never thought of the consequences it would come with, and I mean, let's face it, I still don't think about the consequences of things. That's just me. I'm sorry for everything I did to you in the past, but I'm not sorry that I imprinted on you, and I promise, I will spend the rest of my life making up for the past, even it means forever."_

_I heard the tears falling from her eyes, despite her best efforts to hide them._

"_Well, the pasta is ready." She said, pulling a plate out of the cabinet, and heaping the pasta onto it. She got out another plate, and put just at much, and handed both plates to me. Then she made herself a plate. _

"_It looks and smells really good." I said. She smiled. I took a bite. "Tastes really good too."_

"_How about we sit down and eat then?" She said, giggling, pulling a chair for me and then herself._

_The rest of our dinner was just spent bantering, but I couldn't help feeling a lighter. _

* * *

I snapped back from my memory. We seemed to have arrived at the graveyard, where I knew Billy Black had been buried. At that moment, I knew this was big news, because Nafia wouldn't have brought me here otherwise. We got out of the car, and we went inside, Nafia still not saying anything. As she stopped in front of Billy's grave, as I had much assumed she would, I heard her starting to cry. I stepped forward to comfort her, but she put her hand up.

"What I am going to tell you, I have never told anyone, even in my family before. The only person who knows is Aylen. Are you ready, Karson? And let me tell you right now, this isn't going to be easy for you to hear, but please keep in mind, it's ten times harder for me to say."

I gulped, and said,

"What is it, Nafia? I can handle it."

She shut her eyes tight, inhaling the cold wind, obviously trying to figure out where to start from. I had never seen her like this, before or after the imprint. I had always known a Nafia who knew what she was doing, knew what she wanted. This girl, here in front of me, wasn't her. This girl seemed scared, and almost resentful of something.

"So, you know how every summer, I go to a musical camp. It was where my grandfather had gone much earlier in his life, and where my mother went, and as tradition, I went too. The first summer I went, I was merely fourteen. Are you with me so far?"

"Yeah." I breathed. I resisted the urge to hold her, because I knew she wouldn't be able to talk then, and it was clearly important for her to get whatever it was off her chest. But she seemed to be in so much pain…it killed me to see her like this.

"Well, I met someone there…his name was Dunkan."

I felt a twang of jealousy. I didn't like where this story was going already.

"And, overtime, I fell in love with him, to the point of no return. He had become my world, and I couldn't imagine my life without him."

The air was like a boa constrictor, choking me, slowly, ensuring I die a slow, painful death. She loved someone else. She loved someone else. That was it. She could never be mine, because she loved someone else.

"Anyway, it was all fine and dandy, until I realized I could never be with him…do you wanna know why I could never be with him? Because I knew my family wouldn't accept him…and do you wanna know why my family wouldn't accept him?"

"Why?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"Because he was…because he…was…is…he's…a…" Nafia bit her lip, and began sobbing hard.

"Just….just tell me, Nafia. Was he bad to you? Did he treat you badly? Did he hurt you in some way? I swear I'll kill him…just tell me what he did."

"NO! He was amazing. He treated me like I was the world to him. I suppose that's why I fell for him, so hard at that…he…is…a…vampire, Karson. Dunkan, is a vampire." Nafia let out, in between her sobs.

Oh my damn.

That wasn't something I was expecting at all. How could Nafia of all people fall in love with a leech? Okay, so half her family was leeches, but she had more Quileute pride than most people I knew.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you. You're judging me too, just like everyone else would have had they known. That's exactly why I didn't tell anyone. I don't even know why I bothered telling you." Nafia said, a look betrayal on her face, and I didn't blame her. I'm sure my expression wasn't welcoming. But I wouldn't let her go like that. I grabbed her arm, pulling her tiny body into my large one.

"I don't care, Nafia, I really don't. It doesn't matter to me, that you used to love a vampire. You know everything about my past, and I've obviously done much worse things." I tried chuckling at the end, hoping to lighten the mood, but what Nafia did next, completely took me by surprise. She turned around and fell, placing her head to my kneecap, almost as if she was begging.

"That's the problem, Karson. I _still_ love him. But I promise, I'll be a good imprint. I'll forget him, and I'll force myself to love you. I will, really, I will. I promise. Please don't hate me. Please, I don't think I could bear to lose you in my life. Please, Karson…please."

And then she fell to the ground crying, and it hit me how much pain she must have been going through, the past three or four years. No one meant more to Nafia than her family, and the thought of falling in love with a vampire would have devastated Jacob. She was a daddy's girl through and through, and she knew she was Jacob's pride. She loved her father more than anyone in the world, and the thought of disappointing him killed her on the inside. I picked her up and put her back in the car, her clinging onto me with dear life. I settled her in the front seat, and got into the driver's seat myself. Before I knew it, she had already cried herself to sleep, and then her house arrived. I took her out gently, as to not wake her up and I heard her mumble,

"You don't hate me, do you, Karson? Please don't hate me. You really are my best friend."

I kissed her forehead and whispered back,

"No, Nafia. I could never hate you. Ever."

I knew everyone was perplexed as I brought her into her house, but I couldn't answer anyone's questions. I just quietly took Nafia up to her room, and laid her in her bed. Kissing her forehead one more time, I closed her door, only to bump into Jacob right outside.

"Now, care to tell me what's going on, son?" Jacob asked. I couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

"I think I should let Nafia tell you that, Jake…all I know is, there's something I have to do, and I won't be at rest until I do that. I have to go now. I'll see you soon."

"You can't just leave without giving me a decent answer, Karson. I expect to know what's going on with my daughter. I have never seen her like this, and if I find out that you're the cause of all this, I won't hesitate to rip you apart, limb by limb, you hear me?"

"Yes sir. But I promise, I didn't do anything to make Nafia like this. But I know how it can be fixed, and that's what I will do."

"And how exactly can this get fixed?" Jacob barked.

"You'll see soon enough, Jake. You'll see." And before he could ask anything else, I flew out the door.

I knew what I had to do. Because that was the only thing that would save my Nafia.

* * *

A/N: YAYYYYYYYY for me finally updating! I'm so so so sorry, it took so long. I hope the next update doesn't take this long. Things take an interesting turn from here, and it'll be exciting to see where it goes, I think. Also, if anyone is on formspring or would like to ask me anything, below is the link to my formspring. Feel free to ask me anything other than my name, and I shall answer anything you would like to know. Also, I have a one-shot in the works on FictionPress, if any of you are interested in reading that, just subscribe to me there. Here is a excerpt:

As he lay in bed, Yuvraaj couldn't help but think of her. Today was the day. Today was the day he would tell her how he felt. Today was the day he would put their entire friendship-if one could even call it that- on the line. Today. Why? Because today she would be leaving. He tried to tell her over the course of the summer, but it took him so long to come to terms with his own feelings, by the time he figured it all out, it was time for her to leave. As he glanced at his alarm clock, he smiled because it was seven in the morning. She was probably making breakfast in her apartment. Wait no! Not today, because her flight was at eleven and she had to be at the airport by eight...crap.

formspring: ask me anything:

http : / www. formspring .me /MiZZSaHurr

^just type it without the spaces when you go to it =)


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